A plan for a 66-metre-high tower near the center of Vienna has led to the UNESCO World Heritage committee putting Vienna on its list of endangered heritage sites.
Vienna’s designation is based on its clustered palaces, old churches and the 19th-century Ringstrasse boulevard and its buildings that replaced the old city walls. The new development, planned by the city, would include a luxury hotel and apartments, a conference center, a skating rink and more; the principal issue for UNESCO is the height of the tower, even though it was lowered from 75 metres in the original plan.
The city’s planners describe the feel as “attractive and modern,” while the UN committee says it “fails to comply fully with previous committee decisions, notably concerning the height of new constructions, which will impact adversely the outstanding universal value of the site.” It cited a previously-specified 43-metre limit.
I have been to Vienna many times and, having looked at the plans for the ‘Heumarkt-Turm’, I fully agree with UNESCO’s stance. There is a horrible hotel there now, but rather than using the opportunity to replace it with something more in keeping with the rest of the city, the planned development will create an even bigger – and taller – eyesore.
I agree as well, and am particularly disturbed by the argument that it should be permitted since others exceed the height. The logical end to that is to say once the line is breached, anything goes.