DC Windumbrellas

Dominique Perrault’s iconic Vienna landmark features a unique appearance, including the tower and its immediate surroundings. Originally designed with special wind umbrellas to reduce and redirect vertical winds, these umbrellas needed to be replaced to withstand increasingly heavy winds over the years. The client’s aim was to redesign them in a way that aligns with the tower’s identity, enhances the urban landscape, and allows people to enjoy the tower front.

After analyzing wind patterns and testing various 3D and physical models, the redesigned umbrellas feature an expanded metal coverage that allows the wind to dissolve through its small holes. Additionally, a flexible and modular furniture configuration has been added, creating gathering spaces for lunch breaks, outdoor meetings, and casual conversations under the shade of the umbrellas. The furniture groups are highlighted with dynamic wind umbrellas that differ in shape from the rest and are adorned with climbing plants grown on their spline. The furniture is made of wooden seating, expanded metal fronts, and brass details, which visually continue in the foundation of the umbrellas through brass inlays in the concrete and the tower’s logo. Allowing people to spend more time outside in a professional environment provides a solution to the challenges of the past year, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic.