01.10.2025
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When Superbude Vienna Prater opened in spring 2021, it marked the brand’s first venture outside Hamburg. The hotel in Vienna’s second district combines 178 rooms (“Buden”), a NENI rooftop restaurant, an all-day breakfast café called Brenner and flexible conference rooms. It’s part hotel, part home — and its character was shaped by interior designers Laura Karasinski and Gerd Zehetner, who developed the storytelling and design concept.
How did your collaboration with Superbude come about?
Laura: Flo and Christian from Superbude discovered an interview with us and invited us for dinner. That’s how it started.
Gerd: We had previously connected through a project for NENI. It never materialised, but it closed the circle when Superbude asked us to design their rooftop restaurant. In between, we worked on restaurant projects like Thell, Bar Campari and Adlerhof.
What makes the Vienna Superbude different?
Laura: The history of the Stuwerviertel is magical. It was a playground for artists and pioneers who pushed boundaries. Johann Georg Stuwer, Vienna’s first balloonist, became the figure who shaped the hotel.
How does this history show up in the interiors?
Gerd: Arriving here should feel like visiting a friend you’ve known through someone else — familiar but surprising. It’s discovery and comfort at once: a bit chaotic, yet cosy, open and very Viennese. Objects aren’t just decorative; they’re meant to be touched and used.
Who did you collaborate with locally?
Laura: Falter, Supersense and FM4 — institutions that, like Superbude, are hard to categorise. They brought authenticity and personality to the project.
Tell us about the themed rooms.
Laura: The Falter Reading Room is a favourite. We integrated materials from the Falter archive and other treasures. There’s no TV here — just books.
Gerd: In total, there are 16 different room types. Each one has a distinct mood and design.
Any other features worth highlighting?
Laura: A fireplace in the lobby. We fought hard to make that happen — a place where guests can share stories in the evening.
Gerd: And the 86 Austrian design chairs we sourced for the top floor. Beautifully restored, they’re timeless pieces.
How did the design process evolve?
Gerd: The concept was never fixed. We allowed input and contradiction, steering the flow rather than controlling it.
Laura: We worked with students at the University of Applied Arts and partners from Vienna, Hamburg and Bavaria. By the time the hotel opened, it already had a story of its own.
Were there challenges?
Gerd: Many — but that’s part of the process. The hardest was not to start planning the next Superbude straight away.
Do you have a favourite “Bude”?
Laura: The Falter Reading Room.
Gerd: The beds that sit like caravans or space capsules — permanent campers inside the rooms.
Describe Vienna in three sentences.
Laura: A world city with a slouch.
Gerd: Sometimes a small town with a big ego.
Both: So pampered by greenery and pomp that you hardly notice it anymore.
Laura & Gerd’s Vienna Guide
Favourite place: Yppenplatz at sunset
Restaurants: Thell, Kutschker44, Mochi, Karma Food, Nguyen Pho House
Street food: Honu, Vienna sausage stand in Pfeilgasse
Bars: Loos Bar, BRUDER
Pubs: Bendl, WIRR
Cafés: Alt Wien, Öfferl Brot
Artists: Peter Kogler, Marianne Vlaschits, Johann Wenzel Bergl
Musicians: Soap & Skin, MIBLU, early Ambros, Wanda
Venues: WUK, Konzerthaus, Arena Vienna
Green spaces: Prater, Augarten, Wienerwald
Shops: Flea market, Lichterloh, Catrinette, Glasfabrik, Glein
Rainy day: Forest walk in rubber boots to a hidden hut, or a museum visit
Summer day: Cycle to a Heuriger or swim in the Old Danube
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