Austria Center Vienna, Conference center in Donaustadt district, Vienna, Austria.
The Austria Center Vienna is a conference complex in Donaustadt, built 1983–1987 to plans by architect Johann Staber. Its main block is octagonal and steps outward at each lower level, with light grey panels and dark window bands below a faceted green-grey roof topped by tilted glazing panels. White letters reading "AUSTRIA CENTER" stand on the sloped band above the entrance, and a curved white canopy projects over a golden grid-patterned wall.
Planned by architect Johann Staber, the Austria Center Vienna was built from 1983 to 1987 despite a 1982 referendum against the project that gathered 1,361,562 signatures, the largest turnout of any Austrian referendum since 1945. It opened on 22 April 1987 in the presence of President Kurt Waldheim and Chancellor Franz Vranitzky, followed on 17 May by a gala broadcast to 32 countries. A fourth exhibition hall was added in 2007.
The Austria Center Vienna is not part of the UN organisations housed in the neighbouring Vienna International Centre, but those organisations use it for large conferences. Its own annual fixtures include the European Congress of Radiology and the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union. The opening gala on 17 May 1987, "Soirée in Wien", was broadcast by ORF from Hall A to 32 countries, with Peter Alexander presenting and Plácido Domingo, Udo Jürgens and Jerry Lewis among the performers.
The facility is easily accessible by public transportation and offers ample parking for visitors. The grounds are relatively flat and easy to navigate, making it simple to move between different areas and halls.
The Austria Center is not part of the UN organisations housed in the neighbouring Vienna International Centre, but those organisations use it for large conferences. Both buildings are managed by the IAKW-AG, which also maintains the VIC. The complex is informally called UNO-City.
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