The headquarters of the Verbund AG is a block perimeter development built around a central courtyard in Vienna’s first district. It was erected between 1952 and 1954 to designs by Carl Appel and is bordered on three sides by public streets or squares. The street facade extends from the square known as Am Hof along Heidenschuss towards Freyung and into Tiefer Graben. The block perimeter development is made up of two volumes, one facing onto Am Hof and the other towards Freyung. In formal terms the building refers back to the architecture of the interwar period. On the other hand the economical use of design and decorative elements, for example the window reveals of real stone, is characteristic of the post-war era. As this facade design had reached the end of its useful life, an invited competition was set up for the redesign of these areas. This competition was won by SOLID Architecture. More images and architects’ description after the break.
In 1982 the plinth zone and the areas of facade that frame the large projecting bay elements on Heidenschuss and Tiefer Graben were remodeled to designs by architect Sepp Stein in the volume oriented towards Freyung. The storey-height glazing facing towards Freyung was replaced by horizontal ribbon windows with brown metal parapet cladding. This, however, weakened the building’s orientation towards Freyung.
