‘A meeting place in the heart of Vienna since 1897.’ Originally built as the station for Vienna’s Stadtbahn railway at Karlsplatz, the pavilion designed by Otto Wagner has always been a place where people met before heading out all over the city. Its architecture is part of what was then a revolutionary transport network that linked the city centre with its municipal districts, instantly enlivening urban life. Ever since construction work on Vienna’s U-Bahn first began in the 1970s, the pavilion next to Resselpark has stood steadfast through each property development phase. Today, it goes by the name of Otto Wagner Pavillon / Club U with, on the upper level, a Jugendstil café in a prominent city centre location and, on the lower level, an ‘underground’ venue at the intersection of several underground lines. By day, it boasts a sun terrace in the splendid setting of listed imperial architecture; by night, a space for alternative night-life culture bathed in the neon lighting of the U-Bahn passageway … All of which makes the pavilion a venue that could not be more Viennese in its contradictions.
While it plays host to the Wiener Festwochen for five weeks, the pavilion provides inspiration for a wide range of artists. Its particularities will be the starting point for site-specific works, performances and interventions. The café and club will be a place for artists, audience, team members and guests to meet. And all are warmly welcome whenever the artistic blends with the social!