The rooftop remodeling Falkestrasse located in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, is a

Coop Himmelb(l)au 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 ...

architectural project. ''Architizer, About Coop Himmelblau'', March 2012 The remodelling is an edition to a pre-existing traditional Viennese building. The law firm clients, ''Schuppich, Sporn, Winischhofer'' required more space in which

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 ...

went up and out. The remodelling design commenced in 1983, with the final construction concluding in late 1988.

The Building

The rooftop building extension itself is a parasitic structure, appearing to chaotically distort and violently slice the existing building. The extension consists of a 90m² conference room beneath the major wing along with additional offices and reception further into the roof space. beneath a ''"space creating bow"''. Speaking on the building, ''"We just interpreted a new corner solution... it was one of the first deconstructivist architecture (sic) in the world"'' - Wolf D. Prix "The remodelling of this rooftop was especially difficult. because we were not allowed to change the material or slope of the roof. So we showed the model to the mayor of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and asked him whether he thought it was architecture. He said ''"Looks more like art to me."'' And we said ''"Thank you very much"'', because art is not subject to the rules of the building code'' - Wolf D. Prix

Reception

The rooftop extension has been described by architectural theorist

Charles Jencks Charles Alexander Jencks (21 June 1939 – 13 October 2019) was an American cultural theorist, landscape designer, architectural historian, and co-founder of the Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres. He published over thirty books and became famous i ...

as “a riotous melange of twisted and warped shapes which resembles a dead pterodactyl that has crash-landed on the roof”. The Falkestrasse rooftop extension was included as a part of the ''

Deconstructivist Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture which appeared in the 1980s. It gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building, commonly characterised by an absence of obvious harmony, continuity, or symmetry. ...

Architecture'' exhibition held in the MOMA in 1988. In his introduction essay to the

deconstructivist Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture which appeared in the 1980s. It gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building, commonly characterised by an absence of obvious harmony, continuity, or symmetry. ...

exhibition,

Mark Wigley Mark Antony Wigley (born 1956) is a New Zealand-born architect and author based in the United States. From 2004 to 2014, he was the Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Career Wigley receive ...

describes the project as ''"The rooftop remodeling project in this exhibition... is clearly a form that has been distorted by some alien organism, a writhing, disruptive animal breaking through the corner. Some twisted counter-relief infects the orthogonal box. It is a skeletal monster which breaks up the elements of the form as it struggles out"''.Franz Schulze, 1996. Philip Johnson: Life and Work. 1 Edition. University Of Chicago Press.

References

External links

the project on archello
{{Coord, 48.2083, 16.3807, display=title Deconstructivism Coop Himmelblau Buildings and structures in Vienna

The Building

Reception

See also

References

External links