Schwimmende Gärten in Vienna - peace and quiet in the heart of the city

05. May / 2021

Vienna is not only the largest city in Austria. With around 1.9 million inhabitants, it is also one of the most important metropolises in Europe. Nevertheless, it is a metropolitan area with a lot of green areas. These take up around half of the entire urban area. This gives the residents the opportunity to find peace and quiet without leaving the city. In addition to the already large range of parks and green spaces, there was another option in October 2020: the floating gardens. These were built in the middle of the Danube Canal. The basis for this is the concrete island of the Kaiserbadschleuse.

The floating gardens Vienna - recreation area and contribution to climate protection

When designing the floating gardens, the concrete island was connected to the mainland by two bridges. This allows easy access. The island itself has also been redesigned. The focus is on a freely accessible lounge area with seating and lounging options. There is also a lush planting. So-called climatic trees were used for this - in this case resistant elm species. These absorb a lot of heat on hot summer days and thus provide cooling.

Fall protection with X-TEND CXL

To ensure safety when using the floating gardens, reliable fall protection is essential - both in the area of the bridges and on the edge of the island. The X-TEND stainless steel cable meshin the CXL design was used for this purpose. These devices cover a total of 300 linear meters. The stainless steel rope mesh is very inconspicuous with a rope thickness of 1.5 mm and a mesh size of 40 mm. It therefore does not impair the view of the historic Otto Wagner House on the opposite bank. Nevertheless, it is very robust and offers optimal protection. With the location on the water, it also has a very positive effect that the stainless steel used is rust-free and extremely weather-resistant.

This is not the first major urban development project on the water in which the X- TEND stainless steel cable mesh was used. It also ensures safety and an attractive design for other well-known systems around the world:

Floating Gardens of Paris
Atlantic Road, Eldhusøya Island, Norway
Sassnitz foot and cycle bridge, Germany
Peninsula footbridge Malraux Strasbourg, France
Hoboken Pier, USA