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The Vienna Gasometers are four gasholder houses, built as part of the municipal gas works () in Vienna, Austria, from 1896 to 1899. They are located in the 11th district, Simmering. They were used from 1899 to 1984 to house gas holders, also known as gasometers, each of 90,000 m³ (3 million cu. ft.) storage capacity. After the changeover from
town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
to
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
between 1969 and 1978, they were no longer used and were shut down. Only the brick exterior walls were preserved. The structures have found new residential and commercial use in modern times.


History

The Gasometers were built from 1896 to 1899 in the Simmering district of Vienna near the ''Gaswerk Simmering'' gas works of the district. The containers were used to help supply Vienna with
town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
, facilities which had previously been provided by the English firm Inter Continental Gas Association (ICGA). Once the contracts with the ICGA expired, the city decided to construct facilities to handle its own gas needs. At the time, the design was the largest in all of Europe. The Gasometers were retired in 1984 due to new technologies in gasometer construction, as well as the city's conversion from
town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
and
coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
to
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
. Gas can be stored underground or in modern high-pressure gas storage spheres under much higher pressures and in smaller volumes than the relatively large gasometers. In 1978, they were designated as protected historic landmarks. Gasometer B was featured in the 1987 James Bond film ''
The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...
''. In the scene, General Koskov arrives inside the building after escaping from
Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
in a gas pipeline capsule, then is escorted to the top of the building, where he is flown away in a Harrier VTOL jet. Vienna undertook a remodelling and revitalization of the protected monuments and in 1995 called for ideas for the new use of the structures. The chosen designs by the architects Jean Nouvel (Gasometer A),
Coop Himmelblau Coop Himmelb(l)au (A pun meaning ''Coop Sky Building'' and ''Coop Sky Blue'') is an architecture, urban planning, design, and art firm founded by Wolf D. Prix, Helmut Swiczinsky, and Michael Holzer in Vienna, Austria in 1968. History Coop Him ...
(Gasometer B), Manfred Wehdorn (Gasometer C) and Wilhelm Holzbauer (Gasometer D) were completed between 1999 and 2001. Each gasometer was divided into several zones for living (apartments in the top), working (offices in the middle floors) and entertainment and shopping (shopping malls in the ground floors). The shopping mall levels in each gasometer are connected to the others by skybridges. The historic exterior wall was conserved. One of the ideas rejected for the project was the plan by architect Manfred Wehdorn to use the Gasometers for hotels and facilities for the planned World Expo in Vienna and Budapest. On 30 October 2001, the mayor attended the official grand opening of the Gasometers, although people had begun moving in as early as May 2001. Gasometer-a-by viennaphoto at.jpg, Gasometer A, inside Gasometer-b-by viennaphoto at.jpg, Gasometer B, outside Gasometer c-inside-by viennaphoto at.jpg, Gasometer C, inside Gasometer-d-by viennaphoto at.jpg, Gasometer D, inside


Technical details

The four Gasometers structures each held a
cylindrical A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infini ...
telescopic gas holder, each with a volume of about 90,000 m³ (3 million cu. ft.) seated in a water basin, each enclosed by a red-brick facade. They are each tall and in diameter. The Gasometers were gutted during the remodelling and only the brick exterior and parts of the roof were left standing.
Coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
was dry-distilled from coal and was stored in these containers before it was distributed into the city gas network. The "
town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
" was originally used only by the street lamps, but in 1910, its use for cooking and heating in private homes was introduced.


Today

Indoor facilities include a music hall (capacity 2000–3000 people), movie theatre, student
dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
, municipal archive, and so on. There are about 800 apartments (two thirds within the historic brick walls) with 1600 regular tenants, as well as about 70 student apartments with 250 students in residence.


References


External links


Gasometer City - The Shopping Center (German)Gasometer ViennaSatellite picture by Google MapsGasometer CommunityVerein der Freunde der Wiener Gasometer (German, Vienna Gasometer internet community)
{{Coord, 48.185, N, 16.420, E, display=title Coop Himmelblau Buildings and structures in Simmering (Vienna) Music venues in Austria Cultural venues in Vienna Shopping malls in Austria Tourist attractions in Vienna Residential buildings in Vienna Gas holders