THE RAIQA QUARTER INNSBRUCK CENTRE, 2019

The new RAIQA is intended to create a place that creates identity, invites people to linger through its vibrancy and spatial quality, and not least eliminates the distance between Raiffeisenbank’s customers and employees. Raiffeisen Bank’s buildings today appear as solitaires, which do not connect with the Wilhelminian block, but on the contrary radically detach themselves from it and let the resulting spaces appear like random products. With the new RAIQA, there is a chance to eliminate these spatial deficits. The modification of the existing structure is therefore primarily aimed at creating clearly defined outdoor spaces with a high quality of living and thus giving the citizens back a piece of the city.

The design strategy is aimed at getting involved with the immediate urban style and creating a compositional balance by adding and removing individual volumes. The strict symmetry of the existing main building thus becomes a complex urban figure.

The RAIQA is intended to unfold an unmistakable character in order to enable both users and passers-by to identify with it. As a characteristic trademark of Innsbruck, the motif of the arch is taken up, which can be found within the inner city core in a variety of forms – including as a façade opening, archway or arcade. The generously dimensioned shop windows create a flowing transition from the outside to the inside.

The RAIQA façade is divided into two zones: The base zone, perceived primarily from a pedestrian perspective, anchors the building in the city. The upper zone, on the other hand, appears light and dissolved, creating an image of transparency and openness. The façade structure is essentially designed to merge old and new into a single unit and to underline the composition of the building.