Student Trophy 2016 – Austria

Concrete Student Trophy 2016: A pendulum cableway in the cultural landscape of the Wachau



Project definition: Preliminary design of a barrier-free pendulum cableway for pedestrians and cyclists to connect Aggsbach-Dorf with Aggsbach-Markt, two villages which are separated by the Danube river. To ensure the profitability the cableway has to run fully automatically without any operator assistance. As the Wachau was inscribed as “Wachau Cultural Landscape” in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in recognition of its architectural and agricultural history the student’s designs have to be environmentally friendly, landscape gently, energy saving and of course within the framework of the proposed urban-planning development. The solutions also have to include the surrounding areas: a multiple use for recreational activities (e.g. sports, cultural events) as well as parking lots and traffic zones need to be developed.

Furthermore not only a good idea with respect to architecture has to be found, but it is also necessary to make calculations and develop building procedures, due to the main goal of the CST: architects and civil engineers must learn to work hand in hand. The students furthermore have to present detailed descriptions and models for visualisation. The sophisticated solutions presented by the students were highly appreciated by the members of the jury, consisting of architects, civil engineers, representatives of the building and cement industries as well as the mayors of Aggsbach-Dorf and Aggsbach-Markt.

The first price (€ 4000.-) was awarded to students of two different universities: the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Vienna University of Technology. The second price (€ 3000.-) went to a team of the Vienna University of Technology, the third price to the Technical University in Graz. In addition two teams won appreciation awards of € 1000.- each. The jury decided to split the remaining € 1000.- between the excreted submissions.

Winning project: „Lufthafen Wachau” (Felix Stadler, Jan Niklas Schöpf, Michael Knoll)

The winning team was able to convince the jury with a visually appealing, esthetic concept. Their idea of an „Augmented-Reality-App“ complies with the latest developments and attracts young people. The cableway’s shaping looks like an opening shell, the pillars are constructed at a high level. The project grows out of this unique landscape, the whole design is an incomparable eyecatcher.



Second price project: „LUPE” (Christopher Emil Kreminger, Dominic Mimlich, Guido Bauer)

„LUPE” stands out with an excellent architectural concept. The valley stations comply easily with the landscape. It’s the only project with a third station on top of the mountain. With this idea the team shows it’s independence and ability to create more than just a connection between the two villages. Though the jury was questioning the need of a third station especially in relation to the costs and of course according to the meaning of the World Heritage.



The third price project: „AggsBahn“ (Gernot Kraut, Nico Rauchenwald, Maximilian Fiebich).

„AggsBahn“ is a project that at first sight appears simple and pragmatic, but then turns out to be very charming. The cableway stations look very similar to the family houses in this area, their discreet appearance fits perfectly with the contemporary architecture on site. The design of the square unfolds in a natural way. The full potentialities of concrete were barely exploited. The jury also misses a design in greater detail.