Themensensible Umplanung des Flakturmpaars im Wiener Augarten zu einer Gedenkstätte
Judith Köhler
Vienna has three pairs of flak towers, built of reinforced concrete, which were erected during the Second World War. The name flak tower (Flakturm) is derived from the anti-aircraft gun (Flak) that was positioned on the platform of the tower. These six towers are arranged in a triangular formation around the city centre and were designed as pairs, consisting of a “Gefechtsturm“ and a “Leitturm“ which were connected. Five of the six flak towers are protected as historic monuments and have largely been preserved in their original condition from 1945. They are currently not accessible to the public, and their history has, so far, received insufficient attention. Only one of the six towers has been converted and now houses an aquarium called “Haus des Meeres”, a project that has faced considerable criticism. This and other flak tower conversions fail to address the functional and historical context of these Nazi-era structures. Any appropriate redevelopment must be based on historical knowledge of their construction and their role within the urban environment.
This thesis proposes a design for the redevelopment of the pair of flak towers in Vienna’s Augarten. The aim is to present the flak towers not merely as static relics but as authentic, experiential sites. Due to their history, they should be recognised not only as locations associated with National Socialism in Austria but also as central to Austria’s culture of remembrance. Therefore, the towers, surrounded by a Baroque garden, are to be transformed into a memorial site through minimal invasive interventions and made accessible to the public. Both the exterior and interior spaces of the towers will be equipped with infrastructure that allows visitors to experience all phases of their history. In addition to the long-overdue historically sensitive treatment of the site, the project places particular emphasis on viewing the flak towers as a pair—a feature that has been entirely overlooked in previous redevelopment projects.
Entire paper in full text