LIQUIFER

VISITAIR INFORMATION CENTER
Vienna International Airport

Implementation:

LIQUIFER - office for [space]architecture (architecture and vico-table design) and

UMA information technology (general contractor, concept, overall design and implementation, interactive media installations)
for the VISITAIR center, Vienna International Airport

September 2007

The Visitair Center conveys the idea of the Vienna International Airport as a platform for information transfer between a broad range of people. It disclose facts and recounts stories concerning all aspects of departure and arrival of airplanes.

Besides local people, interested visitors – from schools and universities, families and airport fans – can get information about the airport in a permanent exhibition.

The Visitair Center offers four interactive media stations (Hard Facts, Dialogue Forum, Soundstation, Vico-table), a small shop area, a wardroom and an information counter.

Architecture

A horizontal and rolling information membrane is stretching 68 metres along the facade and shapes the space producing its dynamic. The original L-shape space is thus set back. In the beginning it seemed difficult to organize the programme such that the whole space and all the media stations could be controlled by only one person. But in this new configuration and functional organisation the result was a good transparence of the media stations and a continuous flux of the visitors.

The design of the swinging furniture including the green upholstery, the horizontally oscillating membrane and the various floor levels which structure the space without solid full-height fixings or installations create zones and enlarge the whole space.

The interactive media stations are designed to be an integral part of the overal architecture.

Interactive Environment

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a large interactive media desk which enables visitors to journey through time. They can look back into the airport’s past, learn facts about the present or move themselves into the future. The ‘Sound-station’ deals with the theme of noise – visitors find out about technical aspects, can play with a ‘sound check’ and learn how we experience noise subjectively. Visitors can find out interesting details about the "dialogue forum", a platform where neighbours and authorities discuss about current and future airport developments. Finally, there is a reference section, where people can use computers to immerse themselves in numerous airport publications.