Hotel in the Gardens of the Palais Schwarzenberg - Austria

Jesper Bork

Bork-Portrait

Biography

Jesper Bork is a Danish architect working in Copenhagen and Vienna.

He studied architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna as well as the Institute of Architecture & Design at Aalborg University where he graduated in 2005.

Jesper joined Wolfgang Tschapeller Architects in 2005 and since then he played a key role in the studio’s development into an internationally recognized and award-winning practice. He was the lead architect of several prize winning projects including the extension of the University of Applied Arts and the Hotel Schwarzenberg in Vienna, the European Cultural Center in Aachen as well as the Centre for Promotion of Science in Belgrade. Furthermore he developed the detail design and oversaw the construction of the St. Joseph House, which was nominated for the Wallpaper Design Award in 2009.

Before studying architecture Jesper worked as a movie set maker in Melbourne, Australia. During his architectural studies he joined Coop Himmelb(l)au where he was part of the team developing the House of Music in Aalborg and the High School No. 9 in Los Angeles.

Jesper is a registered architect in Denmark and a member of the Examiner Corps under the Danish Ministry of Science.

Hotel in the Gardens of the Palais Schwarzenberg

Client: Die Schwarzenberg’schen Familienstiftung

Located in the center of Vienna in one of Europe’s largest inner city historic garden areas including the Botanical Gardens, the Belvedere Garden and the Gardens of the Palais Schwarzenberg, the new addition to the Hotel Palais Schwarzenberg transforms the architectural typology of the existing baroque ensemble in a contemporary image.

As a key example of Austrian baroque architecture the existing ensemble of the Palais Schwarzenberg consists of delicately composed volumes precisely articulated with avant-corps. The new building volume is articulated in a similar way; the main envelope, the corps de logis, develops as a pliable and functional monochrome volume, constant in height although with a slightly undulating inclination of the vertical surfaces. Emerging out of this monochrome volume are functional and three-dimensionally transformed avant-corps called specials. These specials stimulate extraordinary functions. The specials are unexpected space configurations, multi-storied, top lit, with inclined walls, only remotely reminiscent of hotel suites.

The process generates a building which is not primarily hotel but rather a discussion of tectonic and historic conditions. Like the Palais, which attraction lies in the fact that it is not a hotel but rather a remaining place of unfamiliar usage; a real palace in which one can stay the night.

With its disproportionately high and low spaces, with the cantilevering bed-pods seemingly floating in space and with the unusual amount of space dedicated to each unit the new building will offer more than a feeling of exclusivity; being allowed to stay in a chapel, a remote rooftop or simply sleeping alone under the stars in a beautiful garden.

The hotel suites are developed to the highest standards of luxury. Natural ventilation is incorporated in the environmental concept. Heating/cooling pipes are integrated into the walls, ceilings and floors activating all building components.

The Palais Schwarzenberg is together with the adjacent Belvedere Castle and Belvedere Garden a UNESCO World Heritage site and the project has been critically reviewed and approved by the International Heritage Council.

Schwarzenberg

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