The group’s fourth department store is scheduled to open in Vienna in 2024. The KaDeWe Group has now announced the name of the new shopping temple – and it has a lot to offer.
Kaufhaus des Wieners: The rendering shows the KaDeWe offshoot on Mariahilfer Strasse.K18
There isn’t an awful lot to say about the new department store in Vienna. After all, the fourth shopping temple of the KaDeWe Group is not scheduled to open until autumn 2024. But the name of the Viennese house is now certain – and it has it all. “Lamarr” will be the name of the new department store, located in the heart of Vienna, named after Hollywood icon Hedy Lamarr.
Born Hedwig Kiesler in the Austrian capital in 1914, the actress attracted attention as early as 1933 with the first nude scene of a woman in the cinema; for the film with the programmatic title “Ecstasy” she had dropped the covers. After immigrating to the USA in 1937, she became an international film star under the stage name Hedy Lamarr. And yet it is precisely her merits beyond the screen that still fascinate the native of Vienna.
Because Lamarr was also a brilliant inventor, she developed the frequency hopping method, which is the basis for mobile communications, WLAN and Bluetooth. In the committed fight against the National Socialists, the actress had developed a radio remote control for torpedoes and in the course of this also the frequency hopping procedure; In 1942 she applied for a patent for her invention together with the US composer George Antheil.
Talented actress, gifted inventor: Hedy Lamarr from Vienna.Imago
The fact that the KaDeWe Group – in addition to the Berlin parent store, they also operate Oberpollinger in Munich and the Alsterhaus in Hamburg, in the spring of 2024 the Carsch Haus in Düsseldorf and a few months later Lamarr – is using the name of the Hollywood icon for the Viennese department store , her son thinks it’s good: “She loved Vienna so much,” said Anthony Loder, according to a pre-announcement. “My mother was Austrian from birth to death.”
We will express the different facets of Hedy Lamarr’s life and personality.
After the completion of the department store, the actress, who died in Florida in 2002, will meet the guests of the shopping temple here and there. An approximately 1000 square meter roof park is also to bear the name Lamarrs. The department store itself will have around 20,000 square meters and, according to the KaDeWe Group, will bring together luxury labels and products from international and local brands.
The house is intended to commemorate the icon: a 1000 square meter roof park also gets its name.K18
“Leading brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada and Bottega Veneta are our partners here too. There will definitely be brands that are characteristic of Vienna and Austria – we are developing an exquisite range for the Lamarr,” says André Maeder, CEO of the KaDeWe Group, which is owned by the Swiss real estate and retail group Signa and the Thai Central Group.
Architecturally, too, the KaDeWe Group wants to remain true to the elegance tried and tested in Berlin: the Rotterdam-based office OMA of the architect star Rem Koolhaas was again engaged for the expansion of the Vienna department store; The architectural office is also responsible for a 150-bed Hyatt Thompson Hotel, which will be connected according to the plans. “We will express the different facets of Hedy Lamarr’s life and personality: Hollywood, Vienna and her technical ingenuity,” said OMA architect Ellen van Loon according to the announcement. “What made her special and her impact to this day is a link between these three worlds.”
Integrated into the department store, there will be a museum café on the fifth floor dedicated to the life and work of Lamarr. In addition, the actress should meet the visitors visually on the walls, between showcases or in the elevator. Her famously pointed quotes should also move into focus. One of her bon mots that is particularly useful: “Spend your money! Most people save their whole lives and then leave it to someone else,” Hedy Lamarr once advised. “Money should be enjoyed.” The woman just knew.