LICHTBLICK CAFE - Austria |
Monday, 25 June 2007 |
If decidedly unfashionable cuckoo clocks, Tyrolean kitsch and yodeling
form your memories of Austria, update your impressions next time you
are in Innsbruck. It is hard to not look up in Innsbruck, the
provincial capital of Tyrol, with the Nordkette Mountains hulking all
around. But focus a bit lower and zero in on the new Town Hall. The
Dominique Perrault-designed building
is on the Old Town’s (Altstadt) main artery, the 17th century
Maria-Theresien Strasse.
Go up to the rooftop Lichtblick Cafe (also by Perrault) and marvel at
the magnificent 360-degree views. The place is fashionable, sleek and
definitely void of Alpen-kitsch. The walls are floor-to-ceiling glass
and the roof is a translucent membrane allowing daylight through. At
night, the entire cafe looks like a large glowing lighting fixture in
the sky.
The 54-year-old Perrault is highly regarded for his ability to allow
landscapes to be transformed but not interfered by his buildings. His
notable upcoming projects include the EWHA Women’s University in Seoul,
Korea (2008), the new Mariinski Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia
(2009), and the Olympic Tennis Centre in Madrid, Spain (2009). By Tuija Seipell.
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