The “Steirereck”, a renowned restaurant, is located in Vienna’s Stadtpark. The young Viennese office PPAG has extended the restaurant space by allowing the individual dining areas to tumble into the adjacent park as sprawling clusters.
The extension of the Steiereck as a spatial cluster / © pierer.net
The extension of the Steiereck as a spatial cluster / © pierer.net
Opening to the city park / © pierer.net
Herb garden on the roof / © pierer.net
Inside and outside / © pierer.net
Protected niche with a view / © pierer.net
© pierer.net
© pierer.net
The transition zone between old and new / © pierer.net
The old dining room was also redesigned / © pierer.net
Site plan
Floor plan
Although the Steirereck was only renovated a few years ago, the operators were not satisfied with the spatial concept. As a result, a competition was launched for a complete restructuring and a better connection to the city park. PPAG took the dining table as the smallest unit in their design and won the competition.
The result is a building ensemble that offers guests a great deal of intimacy while retaining the character of a dining room. The tables are arranged in individual clusters that branch out into the park like fingers. Each table creates a kind of bulge in the façade and the interior. It opens outwards and is protected inside in the niche assigned to it. In addition, electrically operated lifting windows provide large openings and a connection to the outside.
The individual clusters create a sequence of courtyards, which are transformed into terraces as a subtracted area of the building volume. They interlock with the park through seating steps. The herb garden for the restaurant is located on the associated roof landscape.
The architects chose slightly reflective metal panels for the façade, which take away the massiveness of the expressive bodies of the individual clusters and reflect the surroundings. In the old dining room, the materiality of the façade is taken up, creating a link between old and new. Here, the metal panels rezone the space. In addition, a kind of height layer model hangs from the ceiling, concealing the window lintels and matching the different heights of the revolving doors.
The project took two years to plan and build. Construction was carried out during ongoing operations. During this time, the architects combined many different ideas and created dining areas that architecturally reflect the culinary standards of the Steirereck.
Photos: © pierer.net