Because of the Wiener Linien contract: There are no industrial towers for Langauerplatz

The ventilation towers on Langauerplatz were supposed to be painted in the fall of 2022. A contract prevented this.

Vienna / RUDOLFSHEIM-FIVE HOUSE. In the course of the redesign of Langauerplatz, the idea was born to include the two dominant ventilation towers of Wiener Linien and design them artistically. The high-quality painting of the two columns will greatly improve the appearance of the square, which is why both the county and various municipal departments, including the District Support for Urban Renewal, GB * in short, endorse this idea.

“We as GB* were very happy to have taken on the project and sought contact with an artist from the region and the neighboring school in Gasgasse,” says Markus Mondre of GB*. The artist Sebastian Schager, who had already designed the Europaplatz’s ventilation shafts, was once again contracted to give the square the necessary colour. He presented an exemplary concept in which Gasgasse’s students were also involved. Various heads should be drawn on the towers protruding from the bottom of the towers. The artist was going to work with stencils to make the coloring easier for the kids. However, nothing has happened since then.

Who assumes responsibility?

I asked the district newspaper Wiener Lenin. “If contamination occurs, someone must be responsible for the shafts,” the press office said. However, this regulation is only new. Wiener Linien wishes to conclude a contract as a condition of his approval of the technical design of the ventilation towers. This includes, among other things, a financial guarantee from the contracting partner that it will bear the costs of restoring the ventilation towers in the event of staining.

Who should be in charge of the towers?

For legal reasons, the district administration cannot take this responsibility. If only the club could do it. If the towers became dirty, they would have to be painted white again, which would cost around 8,000 euros.

So far no solution

“The painting on the towers on Europaplatz that was done years ago is still well received. The design of the columns will also improve the Langauergasse area behind IKEA. I hope we can find a solution with Wiener Lenin,” said district manager Dietmar Borecht (SPÖ).

Incidentally, the area newspaper is on the ball regarding the Palmhof Café memorial, and the two ventilation towers were briefly discussed as a possible ‘archaeological area’, but this idea was again rejected.

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