Herminengasse 15/1, 1020 Vienna/Salzburg, Austria
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Passage Redux
Vienna - second prize
The Karlsplatz-Passage is currently cutt-off from its aboveground surrounding. The proposal wants to reconnect it with the urban context and reinforce the passage as a vivid street space and link between Vienna’s main cultural institutions situated at the Karlsplatz. By providing options for art displays and installations the traffic building is transformed into a kind of art gallery where cultural institutions can present themselves. The design intends to “shorten“ the passage by inserting a new attraction - the ear in the narrowest section, the so-called “shopping street”. Here sound art can be installed or live-concerts broadcast. The opening lets sunlight enter the passage and links it visually to aboveground. The ear develops out of the interlacing of three elements - wall, handrail and ceiling. Its warped geometry combined with functions on both sides of the street break the linearity and perspectivity of the space and generate a