Berger + Parkkinen Architekten Zürich Kosmos Building Vienna, Austria

The new office building for Zürich Kosmos, situated on a prominent site in Vienna’s restricted down town area, will be the first new modern building in the historic center since the Haas Haus by Hans Hollein.


Because of the location in the historic center of Vienna the design had to conform to the strict building codes of the area.

The main objective was for the building to have a transparent and open character with the lobby and commercial areas acting as a semi-public space between the town and the “house”.
The only possible source of daylight had to come from the facades facing the streets as the backside of the building site was enclosed by two huge fire walls of neighboring buildings.

In order for daylight to penetrate deep into the volume of the building the “skin” was enlarged by deep folds which increased the surface by 42%. Only elevators and stairs were left without daylight.
A second “skin” of glazing, following the contour of the building block, acts as a buffer zone between the workspaces and the town and also allows for natural ventilation as well as sound protection.
The ground plan forms the shape of a 3-finger hand with nine columns supporting the eight office floors. Each floor offers a continuous, open space with high flexibility for various work concepts.
The quay of the “Donaukanal” and the historic “Rudolfsplatz” can be viewed from almost any point in the building.

Berger + Parkkinen Architekten
Client: Zürich-Kosmos Versicherungen AG
Site: 850 square meters
Office area: 4.900 square meters
Volume (above ground): 25.950 cubic meters

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