Debating Chamber in the Austrian Parliament - Vienna

Theophil Hansen’s parliament building can not only be understood as an integral part of the city, but also as a city in itself; a complex and dense spatial figure which represents the socio-political situation of the 19^th century. To maintain the urban integrity of the Ringstrasse the external silhouette should remain untouched. It is therefore even more important, in order to give the building a contemporary identity, to open it from the inside out as a democratic forum of political discourse; a fitting space for today’s close ties between society and the National Council.
The redesign of the plenary chamber offers the chance to create a contemporary framework for a diverse and free society; an architectural embodiment of democratic terms such as “openness” and “transparency”.