Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle

+
Vienna, 2006
International Competition
Area
~ 7600m²
Client
City of Vienna
Team
Clemens Kolar, Joachim Kräftner
Architecture
S & S Architects
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle
Forcecourt Bridge Schönbrunn Castle - Plan

The castle bridge constitutes a partial implementation after an international competition was won (together with S & S Architects). The complete project includes a large-scale reconstruction of the Schönbrunn forecourt, among other things, through the relocation of the western main access road towards the Vienna River, the creation of an underground bus garage together with an arrival center, and a new landscape and open space design.

Originally a baroque bridge leading to the Castle, erected on the main axis of Schönbrunn, it was widened around 1900 by Friedrich Ohmann and formulated as a plaza surrounded by traffic. The design is based on the removal of the latent traffic from the bridge area. The middle part is designed as a gravel top and is gently stepped towards the Castle. The remaining surfaced plaza areas are paved with natural stone slabs, the side parts are designed as lawns, decorated with large box balls, which once again stress the alignment. The sphinxes and lions, as it were, frame the middle piece and characterize the historic continuity since the 18th century in the way they are situated.