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Wien, 1. Bezirk, Art of Facades of Vienna (Eßlinggasse/Franz-Josefs-Kai), in the background, Ring Tower (Ringturm)

The ring tower is a striking high-rise building in a prominent location in Vienna, where is located the headquarters of the Vienna Insurance Group. It was built in 1953-1955 after designs of Erich Boltenstern at Schottenring inside the Viennese Ringstrasse and is located at the stop Schottenring of the Wiener Linien (Vienna Public Transport). The 73 meter (93 meter height including the weather light column) high ring tower was deemed as innovative project for the reconstruction of the city.

The building, which previously stood on this plot, was the only one of the entire Scots ring which was destroyed in the Second World War. The ring tower with its 23 floors and its 20-meter high weather lighthouse is the second highest building inside Vienna's Ringstrasse. Higher is only the Gothic-style St. Stephen's Cathedral. In addition to the central office of the Vienna Insurance Group are now also offices of Wiener Stadtwerke (public utility company) in the ring tower. In the office building a total of 12,000 square meters of effective surface is available. The facade and parts of the ring tower were renovated in 1996.

Name

In a contest, a name was sought for the then very modern office skyscraper. Among 6,502 entries the name "ring tower" was chosen. There were, among other proposals, such as City House, Gutwill-house (goodwill-house), house of reciprocity, high-corner, new tower, Sonnblick-house, insurance high-rise, Vindobona-house or vision-house (farsightedness-house) of the creative population after the war. One of the submitters of the name "ring tower" was rewarded with an honorarium of 2,000 shillings.

Weather lighthouse

Weather lighthouse, seen from the ring road

On the roof there is the 20-meter high weather lighthouse with 117 lights in differently colored light signals the weather for the next day displaying (each 39 white, red and green lights as well as 2 additional air traffic control lights).

This light column is directly connected to the ZAMG (Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics) on the Hohenwarte in Vienna.

Meaning of the signals:

red ascending = temperature rising

red descending = temperature falling

green ascending = weather conditions will be better

green descending = weather will be worse

Flashing red = warning lightning or storms

Flashing white = snow or ice

Ringturm 2013

Ringturm disguising

Since 2006, the ring tower is changed every year into an "art tower " by covering the building with printed webs. The covering consists of 30 printed network paths with about 3 meters wide and 63 or 36 meters in length , and the resulting area is approximately 4,000 square meters.

The previous art projects:

2006 "Don Giovianni" by Christian Ludwig Attersee (on the occasion of the Mozart Year)

2007 "Tower of Life" by Robert Hammerstiel

2008 "Tower in Bloom" by Hubert Schmalix (Blumenstillleben)

2011 "Sense of family" Xenia Hausner

2012 "Society" by Hungarian artist László Fehér

2013 "Connectedness" of the Slovak artist Dorota Sadovská

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringturm

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Uploaded on November 20, 2014
Taken on November 1, 2014