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The site of the Schindler Award 2007 / 2008

The Austrian capital, Vienna, has been chosen as the competition site of the third Schindler Award for Architecture 2007 / 2008 "Access for All". After reviewing several sites, the core jury under its president, Prof. Françoise-Hélène Jourda, assisted by the competition management team at Nuesch Development, selected a site which poses a challenging task.

The city
Vienna - city of culture, emperors and ballrooms – boasts trendsetting buildings designed by world renowned architects such as Otto Wagner, Hans Hollein, Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Coop Himmelblau. Always at the forefront of modern architecture, Vienna is proud of its impressive avant-garde residential developments and social housing projects erected by the city itself. Urban development guided by social consciousness is evident not only in residential areas but also in the system of green beltways, the new recreational parks along the Danube river, an extensive network of cycle lanes and the metro system, currently being adapted to the needs of the handicapped.

The site
But amid the impressive city planning, Vienna has its share of derelict areas. At the intersection of the western belt (Westgürtel) and the Vienna river valley (Wiental), two major city thorough-fares, two metro lines and the channelled Vienna River enclose a large, neglected area, divorced from the hustle and bustle of city life. An impressive steel trussed metro bridge by Otto Wagner towers above this waste land and mesh of urban infrastructure.

The task
The challenge to all European graduate architecture students is to develop an inclusive urban solution "accessible-for-all" for this problematic city fabric in one of Europe’s most prominent cities. The waste land at the heart of the chosen site might potentially be recovered for residential purposes, a river park and some needed public infrastructure.

The schedule
More information about the competition site will be available on this website from the end of June. Details of the competition task will be published in mid August before the formal opening of the competition in September 2007, when potential participants may apply.

Impressions of the new site:
Aerial view of the site (Google Earth)


The western part of the site as viewed from the north; on the left is the metroline bridge by Otto Wagner; on the right the Vienna river valley.


Central and eastern part of the site.
Panorama: from north to south; point of view: metroline bridge; perspective: east


Western part of the site with metroline bridge.
Panorama: from north to south; point of view: "linke Wienzeile"; perspective: east
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