Gasometer Town, Vienna
Page 2
Continued from page 1

ABOVE: Interior of Gasometer D, showing some of the more than 600 apartments built inside the towers.

From gas plant to multiuse project

G-town's gasometers date back to 1896, when Viennese authorities decided it was time to invest in large-scale gas and electric utilities. In just three years, the city built Europe's largest gas plant (which included the four gasometers) and laid more than 300 miles or 500 km of gas lines.

Over time, natural gas replaced coal gas, and the gasometers were no longer needed. The gas plant was shut down in the mid-1980s. The buildings stood empty, except for techno concerts and an inline skating event, until the city announced a competition for redevelopment proposals in 1996.

Architects Jean Nouvel, Manfred Wehdom, Wilhelm Holzbauer, and the Team Coop Himmelb(l)au won the competition with their multiuse proposal, and construction was soon underway. G-town opened for business on August 31, 2001, drawing an estimated 100,000 visitors.

When to go

Most shops are open 10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Monday - Friday and 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Restaurant hours are 10 a.m. - 11.p.m. daily. The Hollywood Megaplex cinema opens at 2 p.m. each day.

How to get there

U-Bahn. Ride the U3 line to the G-town station. (The trip takes only 8 minutes from Stephansplatz in the city center.)

Car. Take the A23 (Süd-Ost Tangente) to the St. Marx exit. Head for the 1,200-space garage, where the first hour of parking is free.

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Photos provided by by www.gasometer-wien.at. Copyright © Peter Korrak.

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