Gasometer, Shopping and entertainment complex in Simmering district, Vienna, Austria.
Gasometer is a shopping and cultural complex in Vienna's Simmering district, formed from four brick towers originally built between 1896 and 1899 to store gas for the city. Four architects transformed these 70-meter-high structures in the late 1990s into a multifunctional space containing residential units, offices, shops, restaurants, and event halls, while preserving the original exterior walls.
The towers were built between 1896 and 1899 and stored town gas for Vienna's households and street lighting until 1984. After the gas works closed, the structures were converted in the late 1990s by four different architects into a mixed residential and commercial center.
These four former gas storage towers mark Vienna's shift from an industrial city toward modern urban life, and today they house apartments, shops, and cultural venues within their original brick shells. Visitors can observe how the district balances memories of its working-class past with contemporary commercial and residential uses.
The site is open daily and offers over 30 shops, a cinema, restaurants, and event halls to explore. The U3 metro line stops directly at Gasometer station, making it easy to access the complex and reach other parts of Vienna.
During 1990s renovations, construction teams discovered coal dust deposits several centimeters thick coating the interior walls, residue from 85 years of gas production that required specialized removal before work could continue. Each of the four towers was designed by a different architect—Jean Nouvel for residential units, Coop Himmelb(l)au for student housing, Manfred Wehdorn for offices, and Wilhelm Holzbauer for the events venue.
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