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On the EIU’s index, which ranks 140 cities on 30 factors bunched into five categories—stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure—Vienna scores a near-perfect 99.1 out of 100, putting it just ahead of Melbourne. [...] Higher crime rates and ropey infrastructure pull some bigger cities like London, New York and Paris down the league table, despite their cultural and culinary attractions. — The Economist
Having seemingly cracked the 'perfect-city' formula, Vienna, once again, has topped a major global livability ranking. As The Economist reports, the Austrian capital scored a "near-perfect 99.1 out of 100," followed immediately by its perennial quality-of-life rival, Melbourne. Unsurprisingly, the... View full entry
Trade tensions and populist undercurrents continue to dominate the global economic climate. Combined with the spectre of monetary policy tightening and volatility looming over markets, international businesses are under more pressure than ever to get their overseas operations right. [...]
Globally, Vienna tops the ranking for the 10th year running, closely followed by Zurich (2).
— Mercer
The annual Mercer Quality of Living survey with the world's most desirable cities for business professionals to relocate to was recently released in its 2019 edition, and the field of top-ranked locations has not changed much compared to previous years: 1st: Vienna, Austria 2nd: Zurich... View full entry
With its affordable and attractive places to live, the Austrian capital is fast becoming the international gold standard when it comes to public housing, or what Europeans call “social housing” ― in Vienna’s case, government-subsidized housing rented out by the municipality or nonprofit housing associations. Unlike America’s public housing projects, which remain unloved and underfunded... — huffingtonpost.com
In Vienna 62% of its citizens reside in public housing, standing in stark contrast with less than 1% living in US social housing. The Austrian capital boasts regulated rents and strongly protects tenant's rights, while US public housing functions as a last resort for low-income individuals... View full entry
3XN and Austrian firm GERNER GERNER PLUS unveiled a new aquarium scheme titled “Poseidon's Realm”, which won second place in an international competition of the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna (A winner is yet to be announced). Working with aquarium specialists ATT, the team designed the... View full entry
Despite increased political and financial volatility in Europe, many of its cities offer the world’s highest quality of living and remain attractive destinations for expanding business operations and sending expatriates on assignment, according to Mercer’s 19th annual Quality of Living survey. [...]
Vienna occupies first place for overall quality of living for the 8th year running, with the rest of the top-ten list mostly filled by European cities.
— Mercer
The latest annual Mercer Quality of Living survey with the world's most desirable cities for business professionals to relocate to was recently released, and the ten top contenders are mostly the same familiar players: Vienna, AustriaZurich, SwitzerlandAuckland, New ZealandMunich... View full entry
This is a two-part series on housing policy in Vienna and how it could be a model for progressive housing policy in Seattle, where I live, or other American cities struggling with affordable housing. The first part is an overview of financing and subsidies. Part two, coming tomorrow, looks in detail at how zoning and development supports housing affordability. — cityobservatory.org
Mike Eliason, passivhaus designer with Seattle-based Patano Studio, penned an insightful two-part commentary for City Observatory, looking at issues of financing, zoning, affordability, sustainability, and quality of life in a side-by-side comparison of Vienna and Seattle. View full entry
Both Vienna and Budapest can be viewed as battlefields in an unfolding European crisis of identity and confidence that threatens the continent’s political unity and raises fundamental questions about what exactly it means to be European, to be Europe. Can we read these crises at the level of architecture? — Places Journal
In light of contemporary political turmoil in the region, Owen Hatherley examines key moments in the architectural histories of two quintessentially European cities, from the development of Vienna's monumental public housing to Budapest's experimentation with an ethnonationalist style. View full entry
After the University of Applied Arts Vienna chose a winner for its campus redesign competition in 2012, the proposal is just now being made a reality—much to the disappointment of another prominent Viennese institution, Coop Himmelb(l)au.The University selected Riepl Kaufmann Bammer... View full entry
Green Light is an artistic workshops that responds to the current situation in Europe, in which countless refugees are caught up in legal and political limbo. Together with TBA21 in Vienna, Olafur Eliasson has invited people from different backgrounds – refugees and locals – to take part in... View full entry
In a joint statement yesterday the Playa Vista, California-based Hyperloop Transport Technologies (HTT) and the Slovak Republic’s economy minister held out the future vision of the Hyperloop whisking passengers at 760 mph between Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary and the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. A Bratislava-to-Vienna route would take just 8 minutes at full speed, while a Bratislava-to-Budapest route would take 10 minutes. — globalconstructionreview.com
Hyperloop previously in the Archinect news:MIT and TU Delft emerge victorious at Hyperloop competition; Elon Musk drops hint about "electric jets"Hyperloop, brought to you by AecomUnpacking the Hyperloop's lofty promises View full entry
Vienna has once more been named the city with the best quality of life for business professionals by Mercer Consulting, the world’s biggest human resources company.
It headed a top 10 dominated by neighbouring cities in Germany and Switzerland, together with Auckland (3), Vancouver (5) and Sydney (10).
The survey is intended to give multinational companies a reference point when deciding how to compensate staff for postings.
— globalconstructionreview.com
According to the Mercer report, the world's most desirable cities for business professionals to relocate to are:Vienna, AustriaZurich, SwitzerlandAuckland, New ZealandMunich, GermanyVancouver, CanadaDusseldorf, GermanyFrankfurt, GermanyGeneva, SwitzerlandCopenhagen, DenmarkSydney... View full entry
A wooden skyscraper that Austrian architects say will be the tallest of its kind in the world is to be built in Vienna next year. The 84-metre (276ft) HoHo project in the Seestadt Aspern area, one of Europe’s largest urban development sites, will house a hotel, apartments, restaurant, wellness centre and offices, and is expected to cost about €60m (£44m).
Designed by Rüdiger Lainer and Partner, the skyscraper would consist of 76% wood. The material choice, according to project developer Caroline Palfy of Kerbler, is largely ecological. While wood requires hewing down trees, its net environmental impact is far lower than concrete: construction... View full entry
It keeps raining fiber-reinforced concrete at Vienna's latest educational facility: A large concrete facade panel weighing 80 kilograms (176 pounds) came crashing down from the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Library and Learning Center at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, reports... View full entry
We have our book giveaway winner for Adolf Loos, A Private Portrait and Escape Home, Rebuilding a Life After the Anschluss! The two memoirs were each written by family members of Austrian architect Adolf Loos.Adolf Loos, A Private Portrait is the first English translation of the 140-page... View full entry
Time for another book giveaway! We've got two great titles from DoppelHouse Press. The first is the first English edition of Adolf Loos, A Private Portrait by Claire Beck Loos, who was the last wife of Austrian modern architect Adolf Loos. The 140-page biography was originally published in German... View full entry
