Decision 39 COM 7B.94

Historic Centre of Vienna (Austria) (C 1033)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.71, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Takes note of the information provided by the State Party on the revised High-Rise Concept and the new Glacis Master Plan, and that copies of English translations of these planning documents will be provided to the World Heritage Centre shortly;
4. Notes that the details provided for the proposed development of the Vienna Ice-Skating Club / InterContinental Hotel / Konzerthaus area, as requested by the Committee, do not include detailed architectural drawings, 3D modelling, or a formal Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA);
5. Recalls the concerns expressed by the 2012 mission regarding the critical level reached by urban development since inscription and its cumulative impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, and the need for new tools to orient the development process towards sustainable development that protects the attributes of OUV;
6. Expresses its concern that this proposed development appears to be in contravention of the recommendations of the 2012 mission in terms of the height of the buildings and their contribution to the surroundings, and that the designs appear not to have been constrained by the new planning tools;
7. Considers that the new tools developed since the 2012 mission do not appear to ensure that OUV is adequately protected, and that details of proposed developments need to be provided to the World Heritage Centre as a matter of urgency, as well as information on the new and revised planning tools and how they relate to the Management Plan and other planning mechanisms;
8. Requests the State Party to halt any further approvals for high-rise projects until they can be fully appraised by the Advisory Bodies on the basis of HIAs;
9. Also requests the State Party to invite an ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, to consider current high-rise proposals, changes to planning tools, as well as the effectiveness of the overall governance of the property against the background of the concerns expressed by the 2012 mission and its call for stronger emphasis on the protection of the attributes of OUV;
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.