Park Royal Palace: technology & history

Penzing, the fourteenth district of Vienna located in the west of the city, is still renowned today for its large green areas including part of the Wienerwald, the famous Vienna woods where Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and many other artists went to seek inspiration. Penzing is also home to a number of buildings designed by Otto Wagner, an architect in vogue in Vienna in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. These include two villas he lived in right on the edge of the Wienerwald and the Church of St. Leopold am Steinhof, an important example of Art Nouveau architecture. It is in this district, in the green triangle located between Schlossallee, Linzer Strasse and Mariahilfer Strasse and a five minute walk from Schönbrunn Palace, that the new Park Royal Palace Hotel – a superior four star hotel from the Austria Trend Hotels & Resorts chain – has been operating since last October. The building previously housed an Imax cinema and has been completely renovated as part of a 45 million euro investment by the current owner, Mariahilferstrasse 212 Verwertungs. It is managed by Verkehrsbüro Hotellerie, the company that owns the Trend Hotels & Resorts chain. The rectangular plan construction covers approximately 6,000 square metres of a 13,000 square metre site and consists of five above¬-ground storeys along with two additional floors in the south-west section. Its modern but unobtrusive style contrasts pleasantly with the Art Nouveau volumes of the nearby Technical Museum, from which it also borrows a number of design solutions. One such example is the strip of perforated metal panels that envelop the outer walls of the structure from the first to the fourth floor like a second skin. In proximity to the balconies and windows, where the panels also function as awnings, folding or sliding elements are used. The Royal Park Hotel offers 233 rooms, 10 independent apartments (which can make use of the hotel services) and an approximately 900 square metre conference area. The total gross floor space of 21,000 square metres contains several functional areas. The basement houses 162 parking spaces, the equipment rooms, the access to the lobby, an exit towards the Technical Museum and the personnel bathrooms. The car entrance and the exit ramps from the old garage were demolished and rebuilt on the north and east sides of the building. The ground floor has a height of about three meters (four from floor to floor) and is divided into two zones by a north-south oriented corridor. The northern access to the lobby and the lifts to the apartments are located on this corridor. In addition to the reception facilities, this floor also accommodates the kitchen, back office area, restaurant area and terrace. The multifunctional ground-floor conference space is reached via a foyer that serves as a relaxation area during breaks. The floor coverings in the lobby and throughout the ground-floor living and reception area as well as the wall coverings in the adjacent bathrooms consist of the Nu_Marble large-format porcelain tile series from Ceramica Fioranese. The northern part of the first floor accommodates 23 standard rooms while the central section houses the administrative offices. Alongside, there are four seminar rooms, an executive lounge, the fitness centre and spa. The second, third and fourth floors each have 63 standard rooms and seven suites overlooking the park and Schönbrunn Palace. Last but not least, the fifth and sixth floors have ten luxury apartments for long stays. The interior design for the Park Royal Palace was developed in collaboration with Bea&Kate Interiors based on a re-elaboration of the salient features of the exterior. The idea of the folding facade elements is thus repeated and contextualized by adding a third dimension to the reception desk and the lobby columns. The golden colour of the facade is transformed in the interior into visual cues ideal for many situations (light cube, wall and ceiling decorations, curtains, furnishings), producing a warm and relaxing atmosphere. The proximity to the Technical Museum is also reflected in exhibits and large photographic reproductions of technological subjects.