Donaumarina Tower
To Amaze People Through Snøhetta's Remarkable Design
High-rise commercial building development
There’s more to Austria’s capital than Baroque palaces and the Mozartkugeln.
Back in the summer of 2019, Vienna-based developer BAI launched an international competition for what was then called the Donaumarina Tower. Ten of the world’s leading architecture practices—including Foster + Partners, MVRDV, Powerhouse Company, Snøhetta, UNStudio and Zaha Hadid Architects—were invited to imagine a new riverside landmark.
The project has since been acquired by UBM Development and re-branded ‘Timber Marina Tower’, but this article focuses on the original BAI/Snøhetta concept.
The design
We were told that workplaces would become less relevant but the opposite is true. Design firm Snøhetta shows how we should improve offices in the future by creating a remarkable proposal for the design competition.
We were extremely lucky by having a chance to convert their remarkable ideas into five amazing renderings—hand-picked from almost twelve different moods and sketches.
The concept for the 115-meter-high tower is based on a strong identity, situated at a neuralgic point of Vienna, where new residential areas and business districts arise.
The building
Offices are becoming hybrid spaces where you find blurring lines between public and corporate features. The ground floor, where the street extends into the lobby, creates an inviting public entrance. On the 11th floor, hovering just above the neighboring buildings, the architects designed a sky garden with a large public terrace that gives access to amenities such as a gym, a library, conference rooms and a restaurant with a panoramic view of the Donau river.
As friends to the world’s most ambitious architects, we amaze people through Snøhetta’s remarkable design. Our embedded partnership is almost six years old now. We became soulmates and an important partner of their studio in Innsbruck.
Although ownership of the site transferred to UBM Development in 2023, we remain committed to celebrating the original BAI/Snøhetta competition vision.
Our long-standing partnership with Snøhetta spans projects as varied as Not a Hotel Rusutsu in Hokkaido and the Swiss Le Rosey school, each rendered with the same care as these Donaumarina images.
