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Hotel Topazz
Hotel Topazz
Hotel Topazz
Hotel Topazz

One-of-a-kind, award-winning architecture: Its oval windows and dark glass mosaic façade make the centrally-located Hotel Topazz a unique eyecatcher

A 153m² corner plot near Hoher Markt square now boasts an eye-catching hotel designed by BWM Architekten and Michael Manzenreiter. Hotel Topazz inscribes itself in the city’s consciousness while at the same time enhancing the fabric of Vienna’s historical centre with its originality and high quality. Hotel Topazz opened its doors in April 2012.

Counterpoint in the historical cityscape

The building draws its height reference from the long row of buildings on Hoher Markt square, and its distinctive rounded top edge leads over into Kramergasse. This is an homage to the previous building, whose façade was also characterised by a bold, rounded projection.

Like its predecessor, this new project stands out against the cityscape. Its main feature is the distinctive façade with elliptical window openings and dark-brown mosaic cladding. The eye-like windows jut out slightly and also form curved recesses on the inside. Guests can lounge in them while watching the hustle and bustle of the city below. The staggered configuration of the elliptical windows playfully mirrors the varying floor heights of the adjacent buildings and provides a relaxed, weightless contrast to the uniformity of the hotel’s historical surroundings.

The generous, glass-enclosed ground floor draws the eye to the hotel’s reception area and to the salon below. This further enhances the building’s inviting, urban character.

Erich Bernard
The staggered configuration of the elliptical windows playfully mirrors the varying floor heights of the adjacent buildings and provides a relaxed, weightless contrast to the uniformity of the hotel’s historical surroundings.
Erich Bernard

Outside and inside as a dialogical unit

The distinctive façade forms a counterpoint to the continuum of Vienna’s historical centre with which it engages in a lively dialogue. An aspect that played an integral part in the creation of the interior concept was the space-saving utilisation of the elliptical windows as lounging nooks from which guests can observe the city’s street life. The interior spaces were designed and realised by Michael Manzenreiter. His concept is a modern interpretation of the world of the famous Wiener Werkstätte.

Sustainably planned

Hotel Topazz was planned with sustainability and resource conservation in mind in terms of the construction materials used, the building’s physical properties and its energy requirement. The groundwater heat pump principle is applied for heating and cooling, and the building’s own deep-well systems are used for energy recovery.

Task
Construction of a hotel building with characteristic façade in Vienna city centre

Status
Completion 04/2012

Area
2200 m²

Client
Lenikus GmbH

Category
4 Stars Superior

9 upper floors, ground floor, 3 basement floors

BWM Team
Erich Bernard, Ferdinand Bischofter, Alexandra Stage, Judith Moser, Peter Foschi, Hubert Meyer, Egon Niedertscheider

Image credit
BWM Architekten
LENIKUS/Anna Blau
Gerhard Trumler

Participants

Architecture
BWM Architekten und Michael Manzenreiter Architecture

Design, facade
BWM Architekten und Partner

Ground plan, interior design
DI Michael Manzenreiter

Feasibility study
PKF hotelexperts GmbH

Awards

AIT Award

30 April 2014

AIT Award

AIT Award 2014: The Hotel Topazz in Vienna (by BWM Architekten together with MICHAEL MANZENREITER ARCHITECTURE) was awarded with the third prize in the hotel category. An international jury made its selection from among almost 600 projects in more than 30 countries in 8 categories.

Link to AIT-Award

Reisemagazin GEO, Best of Designhotels

24 April 2014

Reisemagazin GEO, Best of Designhotels

For the second time after 2013 the Hotel Topazz has been listed among the best Design Hotels for 2014 by the German travel magazine GEO Saison. Only a few Austrian hotels have made it twice into this international ranking of GEO Saison.

Link zu GEO

AIT Award 2014

13 April 2014

AIT Award 2014

The Hotel Topazz in Vienna (by BWM Architekten together with MICHAEL MANZENREITER ARCHITECTURE) was awarded with the third prize in the hotel category. An international jury made its selection from among almost 600 projects in more than 30 countries in 8 categories.

Hotel Property of the Year 2012!

11 October 2012

Hotel Property of the Year 2012!

Hotel Topazz was nominated as "Hotel Property of the Year 2012" in the context of the great closing gala of the "hotel forum" on 10th October in Munich. The 11 jury members selected three finalists in the first run: Hotel Topazz, Hotel Explorer and the Hotel SAKS in Kaiserslautern. The Topazz Hotel, a project of the Lenikus Group finally won the race.

Matthias Niemeyer, "hotelforum" jury chairman: "The decisive factor in the award was the combination of the different aspects such as architecture, design and sustainability. We are pleased to be here today to honor this innovative concept, witch challenges, especially with regard to the location, have been coped perfectly. "

Free to apply to the competition were hotels offering an attractive integrated concept, inaugurated between January 2011 and June 2012.

best architects 14

16 April 2012

best architects 14

The Hotel Topazz located in Vienna's city center (architecture by BWM Architekten together with MICHAEL MANZENREITER ARCHITECTURE) was awarded best architects 14 in July 2013. This award is granted every year to the most significant and interesting architectural projects in the entire German -speaking world.

Link to best architects

Press

22 November 2023

hotelbau

Wiener Augenblicke

PDF

6 November 2023

HOME

Von der Kunst, mit dem Bauch zu denken

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31 October 2023

IDEAT

Ran ans reiche Erbe

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30 October 2023

VOGUE

Vienna, guida artistica alla città che è molto più di Sissi

Link PDF

23 September 2022

Falstaff Living

Zeitgenössische Architektur in historischen Stadtzentren

Link PDF

19 September 2022

Falstaff Living

Die Mischung macht's

PDF

20 February 2021

Die Presse

Im Spannungsfeld von Alt und Neu

PDF

1 September 2018

Metropole

The Sociable City

PDF

13 November 2015

Falstaff Living

Wie designt man Genuss?

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