Bahnorama, Demolished wooden observation tower in Favoriten, Vienna, Austria
Bahnorama was a 66.72-metre timber observation tower at the corner of Sonnwendgasse and Favoritenstraße in Vienna's 10th district, built in 2010 to overlook the construction of the new Hauptbahnhof. Its base measured 8 by 7 metres and tapered to just 20 by 20 centimetres at the top; the whole structure weighed 135 tonnes and used 160 m³ of wood. Two glass panoramic lifts rose to a platform at 40 metres, above an information centre and café.
The tower was built in 2010 as a temporary installation to serve an urban development project and stood for five years. Its construction used modern timber techniques that were uncommon for such a large structure at the time.
The tower's shape was modelled on the Gliwice radio tower in Poland, a 1935 steel-lattice mast, and the design came from RAHM Architekten of Vienna. Its name merges Bahnhof (station) and Panorama. In October 2015 the timber structure received an award from pro Holz Austria in the commercial building category, presented during the wienwood 2015 event.
The tower no longer exists: it was closed at the end of 2014, sold for 20,000 euros to Vienna Tower Transfer, and demolished in October 2016 after the buyer failed to dismantle it. Nothing remains at the corner of Sonnwendgasse and Favoritenstraße, so plan visits to the Hauptbahnhof area without expecting a climb.
The structure was built entirely from wood without any steel or concrete, which is noteworthy for a project of this scale. This construction approach demonstrated innovative possibilities for using timber in temporary large-scale installations.
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