“It’s unlimited, what you
can do with wallcoverings.”
-- Ruth Bell
Hoho in vienna
With a couple of exceptions, Vienna is
relatively light on modern skyscrapers.
Instead, a colossal 19th-century Ferris
wheel, a soaring Gothic cathedral and
a 1960s-era concrete communications
tower with a revolving restaurant up
top define the prosperous European
capital city’s distinctive skyline.
“Vienna is not a skyscraper city but
innovation is part of our city and why
not try new things,” Katrina Riedl,
a spokeswoman for the Austrian
People’s Party, told The Guardian
in March 2015. Translation: There’s
more than enough room for what’s
anticipated to be the world’s tallest —
and jolliest — wood skyscraper.
Construction on an 84-meter-tall
(275 foot) holz high-rise dubbed
HoHo commenced in October
2016 at Seestadt Aspern, a massive
lakeside
urban
redevelopment
project in northeast Vienna. When
completed in 2018, HoHo will boast
a hotel, apartments, office space and
a wellness center along with some
unique bragging rights: 2,800 metric
tons of CO2 emissions will be curbed
due to the fact 75 percent of HoHo is
made from wood in lieu of concrete
and steel.
“Wood is a natural choice in Austria,
because more of it grows than is
used,” architect Rudiger Lainer tells
World Architecture News. “Wood is
cost-effective, it saves resources, it has
high acceptability and wood surfaces
create a natural atmosphere in indoor
spaces. We have developed a technical
wood construction system that enables
construction of tall buildings.”
All sounds good but Vienna’s fire
department was initially taken aback
when it first got wind about the
construction of a 24-story wooden
skyscraper.
“A few of us were upset because
it was crazy to present an idea like
this that has not been discussed with
everyone yet,” Christian Wegner, a
spokesman with Vienna’s fire brigade
told the Guardian. “They have to
carry out special tests on the correct
combination of concrete and wood.
We also want to develop a more fail-
safe sprinkler system. I expect they
will pass the tests but if they develop
the building as they say they will, it
will be a serious project.” Considering
that construction kicked off this past
fall, it’s safe to assume that all’s good
Construction on a 275-foot-tall
Viennese highrise dubbed HoHo
commenced in October 2016.
(Photo: RLP)
19 . wood architecture