Sound tower
| Sound tower St. Pölten | |
|---|---|
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| Basic data | |
| Place: | St. Polten |
| Construction time : | 1996-1997 |
| Opening: | 1997 |
| Status : | Completed |
| Architect : | Ernst Hoffmann |
| Use / legal | |
| Owner : | Province of Lower Austria |
| Technical specifications | |
| Height to the top: | 77.2 m |
| Height to the roof: | 67.2 m |
| Rank (height) : | 1st place (St.Pölten) |
| Floors : | 7th |
| Elevators : | 1 |
| Building material : | Steel and glass |
The sound tower is one of the landmarks of St. Pölten and, depending on the definition, the tallest or - after the cathedral - the second tallest building in the city. It was built in 1996 and has been in operation since spring 1997. The architect is Ernst Hoffmann , who, in addition to the sound tower, also planned the government district .
architecture
The construction, which stands on an area of 15 by 15 meters, reaches a total height including antenna of 77 meters. Transmitter masts for radio, a weather panorama camera, radio masts for various mobile network operators and other antennas are attached to the roof.
At a height of around 47 meters there is a viewing terrace that can be reached either with the panorama lift or via 280 steps.
The sound tower consists of 650 tons of steel and 1000 m² of glass.
In the tower there are three balls with a diameter of 5.70 meters each and a weight of almost nine tons. They act as listening zones.
use
General
The sound tower of St. Pölten stands in the center of the Landhausviertel as a futuristic “lighthouse” that can be seen from afar. Architect Ernst Hoffmann set a vertical counterpoint to the horizontal conception of the overall system of the government district. This “architectural sculpture” fulfills many other functions. It is a viewing platform, information center and antenna mast for various mobile phone network operators. The content-related task, however, was clear from the start: The location was to become a platform for sound art and those interested in taking away the fear of new media (electronic, digital and interactive image and sound media, also known as multimedia). The Klangturm has remained true to this provision to this day. Although built from 650 tons of steel and 1000 square meters of glass, it is impressive for its transparency and lightness. Including the antenna, it measures 77 meters. The foyer has served as an information center since 2005. The viewing terrace is at a height of 47 meters and can be reached either with the panorama lift or via 280 steps. In between, so-called sound levels alternate with sound spheres: three accessible steel spheres protrude into three rooms, each eight by eight meters in area and around 13 meters high.
The first three levels and the three sound balls are annually provided with installations by different artists . The acoustics of the sound balls are usually used .
The technical heart is the studio above the info center. It represents the control center for the entire media technology. All audio, video and network connections lead into and out of the studio and thus enable audio and video signals to be transmitted to any point in the tower.
Beginnings of the sound tower
When the new country house opened on November 15, 1996, the interior was not yet finished, so the sound tower only sounded outward. It was the multimedia simultaneous concert “Land im Klang”, which consisted of a combination of music, sound architecture, video installation and light. The then artistic director Alvin Curran and the video artist Uli Sigg were responsible for this 45-minute performance. Audience and critics were divided about this first contact with new sound art. With “Listening in” on September 13 and 14, 1997, the sound tower opened its doors for the first time. Both installations with sound sculptures, touchscreens and theremin as well as the “Global Kids” play area initiated by Mia Zabelka with child-friendly access to the computer world already announced the programmatic orientation of the seasonal display from 1998 to today - seasonal (from April to October) because the exhibition area cannot be heated. The information center and the viewing terrace have been open all year round since 2005.
The then curator Mia Zabelka, composer, electric violinist and vocalist, engaged prominent sound artists for the Feedback , Feedback Special and Klangzeichen programs in 1998 and 1999 , invited artists in residence to artistic projects, expanded Global Kids to include age-appropriate workshops Donations of sound or the sounds of the visitors' wishes are heard three times a day via the sound aura and offered young people a popular dance floor with DJ nights. These ambitious projects confirmed the pioneering role in the field of sound art.
Since 2000
The year 2000 brought significant changes: the management switched from the Niederösterreichischen Kulturszene Betriebs GmbH to the Niederösterreichische Museum Betriebs GmbH. Since then, the sound tower has been part of the Lower Austria State Museum, which opened in 2002 . Thus, a very new type of exhibition, namely that of experimental media installation, was added to the museum business. With the integration, the director of the Landesmuseum Niederösterreich, Mag. Carl Aigner , also took over the artistic direction. The annual theme of the 2000 season, liquidsound , consisted of projects that have already been shown and modified and successful new installations.
The curator Roland Schöny, art curator and journalist appointed for 2001 and 2002, put the focus on compositions of new electronic music under the title electronic music station , turned one floor into a bizarre museum of local history and showed the beginnings of this young musical genre. As an external sign, the sound tower shone in different colors, because the glass fronts were covered with foils, which also gave the interior a new dimension. For the 2003 season, Alexandra Schantl from the Department of Culture and Science of the State of Lower Austria, responsible for contemporary art, was won over as curator. The cross-genre projects clearly show the interaction of visual arts, media art and music. For the first time, Gottfried Zawichowski, managing director of Musikfabrik Niederösterreich , worked on the concept and implementation. This resulted in a successful cooperation with musik aktuell - neue musik in nö - that continues to this day .
There was no exhibition in 2004. In a second expansion stage, the panorama lift was given an enclosure, the foyer a heating and the viewing terrace a roof. The middle sound ball was packed completely soundproof and opaque. Media controls and lighting effects were renewed. Since the reopening in 2005, Hannes Raffaseder , composer and audio artist, has been responsible for the conception as curator. He is Vice Rector of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences and head of the Master's degree in Digital Media Technologies and the Institute for Media Production. He created a close collaboration with the university of applied sciences. Every year he finds access to the medium of sound with an annual theme. Time and again, it also includes research projects at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences and enables students to experiment with new media. In 2005 the motto was Museum of Sounds , 2006 Klangfarben - Farbklänge , 2007 Intermedium Orfeus07 , 2008 musik: macht: medien , 2009 music moves! , 2010 Aliens - A journey into unknown worlds of sound and 2011 Klang.Land.Schaft . With some of these programs, it was also possible to tie in with the natural science exhibitions in the Landesmuseum Niederösterreich. Hannes Raffaseder also introduced a series of concerts for experimental, improvised and electronic music and media art.
The number of visitors in recent years has been 34,000 per year.
In 2014 the sound installations ("Sounds of the Regions") were transferred to the State Museum and the information center was closed. The viewing platform is still accessible.
Transmitters
Various television programs in the DVB-T standard and, until the end of 2010, also in the DVB-H standard are broadcast via the sound tower under the internal name ST.PÖLTEN 4 .
| Multiplex | channel | Programs in the bouquet | ERP |
|---|---|---|---|
| MUX A | K31 (554 MHz) | ORF eins , ORF 2 Vienna , ORF 2 Lower Austria , ATV | 2.26 kW |
| MUX B | K21 (474 MHz) | Puls 4 , ORF SPORT + , 3sat , Red Bull TV , Servus TV | 2.26 kW |
| MUX C | K38 (610 MHz) | P3tv | 0.10 kW |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Around the tower at klangturm.at
- ↑ Klangturm on nextroom.at
- ↑ a b skyscraperpage.com
- ↑ kirchenzeitung.at ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Klangturm St. Pölten on architektur-noe.at
- ↑ Webcam on touristcam.at ( memento of the original from January 25, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Architecture at klangturm.at
- ↑ Radio and television frequencies - Lower Austria on ors.at
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 '2.5 " N , 15 ° 37' 57.7" E