Ikea West Station Vienna

HEJ ROOFTOP

With its greened facades, multi-purpose use and, above all, activated Vienna's new IKEA close to the West Station railway station is much more than just a furniture store, but a new meeting place in the heart of the Austrian capital. Besides the facades, the roof is the special feature of the building. The huge roof terrace not only offers a magnificent view over Vienna, but also a variety of public services and a challenge in terms of sound insulation. Planners and developers have recognised the potential for space on city rooftops. In a few decades, says Jakob Dunkl of Querkraft Architekten, our roofs will be "landscapes that will be inhabited, used and greened." In other words, an extremely important aspect of the future.

Architecture
The architecture and the possibilities for use are always decisive factors for the success of a building, and Querkraft Architekten have done a great job here. They have created a distinctly communicative structure with urban experience spaces and active roof surfaces. A green shell envelopes the entire building. It is 4.5 metres deep, provides abundant shade and houses rooms, terraces, plants and elevators, emergency stairs, toilets and the building services.

IKEA
IKEA wants to be a good neighbour.  Therefore the building looks extremely friendly, uncovnetional and urban. The Swedish furniture store uses five of the seven floors. The top two floors is udes by the Hotel Jo & Joe. The building matches the positive image of the furniture store, yet this store is different from all others before. On each level there are open spaces with plants, green facade elements, bird nests, beehives and lots of light. A total of 160 trees provides a pleasant microclimate. 

An attractive rooftop with offerings that make the difference is crowning the building. Due to all the efforts put into this project, it is no surprise that the roof and the building have already been awarded the GREENPASS® Platinum certificate which is is also an ambitious new all-in-one planning and certification tool for climate resilient urban planning and architecture.

Roof
IKEA and Querkraft Architekten have recognised rooftop activation as a huge opportunity to make real estate , and thus our cities, more attractive. The IKEA "TOPPEN" snack bar on the rooftop terrace is the world's first open to the public. And, it is not even compulsory to buy food and drinks from the bar but you can bring your own snacks.

All involved parties are winners. People who meet for coffee on the spectacular roof often also visit IKEA and vice versa. Those who want to stay overnight in Vienna choose their accommodation according to what is on offer in the immediate area, and the terrace on the roof is open until late in the evening. Thus, it's not just about the design of the roofsurface, but also about the uses underneath it. Sound insulation makes it possible, and this field is one of REGUPOL's core competencies.

Soundproofing
When it comes to the development of holistic urban solutions and finding prevention of conflicts between the different user concepts, REGUPOL is your right partner. The roof terrace above the Hotel Jo & Joe is open to the public until late in the evening. The combination of social gathering up the top and bedrooms directly underneath inevitably leads to the requirement of maximum sound insulation. Here, the target value was LnT,w < 28 dB according to ÖNORM S 5012:2012). The appropriate impact sound insulation for the IKEA Wien West Station exterior not only meets all the requirements of sound insulation, but also protects the waterproofing from mechanical influences and has a drainage function. A non-woven fabric fleece to prevent slurry depositing ensures these properties permanently. 

The appropriate product is called REGUPOL sound and drain and meets the highest demands on acoustics.