An Architectural Tour of the Complex

An Architectural Tour of the Complex

Coming into the MuseumsQuartier through the Main Entrance in the Fischer von Erlach Wing, you find yourself in the Main MQ Courtyard, one of the largest enclosed piazzas in the city. Directly in front of you is the former winter riding hall built in classicist style. It now houses the Halle E+G event halls. The new KUNSTHALLE wien is directly behind it. To each side are two slightly diagonally placed new buildings, the LEOPOLD MUSEUM on the left and the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (MUMOK) on the right. The buildings interact with each other and also refer to the urban design situation of the inner city and the adjacent 7th District. Additionally, their designs reflect the different contents of the institutions they house.

The light structure of the LEOPOLD MUSEUM is the only building in the complex to reflect the orthogonal arrangement of the former imperial museums and hence continues the axis of the Kaiserforum that was planned at the time. The Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien on the right-hand side, conversely, reflects the block-like development structure of Vienna's 7th District. In the courtyard itself, the spatial square of the former imperial stables dominates. It diverges from the axis at a slight angle.

To the left and right of the former winter riding hall, large outdoor stairways lead to the entrances of the LEOPOLD MUSEUM and MUMOK museums. From there, stairways and bridges lead to the roof of the Oval Wing and continue to the adjacent 7th District. The entrance to the shared foyer of Halle E+G and to the KUNSTHALLE wien is on the narrow right-hand side of the former riding hall. This means that like in historic times you enter the building from the side.

In terms of coloring, the white limestone paving of the courtyard continues in the facade of the LEOPOLD MUSEUM. It symbolizes the consolidated historicity of the Leopold Collection. The stone, block-like cube exudes a delicate and cultivated elegance, reaching 24 meters above ground and 13 meters below with three underground levels. The exhibition halls are arranged like spokes of a wheel around the inner atrium, and on the upper floors are flooded with light.

The building is strikingly contrasted by the anthracite-colored basalt facade of the MUMOK, a slender stone structure with a spherically cambered roof that looks like it just emerged from the depths. The building's rounded edges, in contrast to the distinctive angularity of the LEOPOLD MUSEUM, create the impression that the structure is still in the process of forming. It has two underground levels and three levels above ground, connected in the interior by a contiguous, 41-meter-high room. The entrance levels of the two museums are at a height of four meters, which is intended to relativize the steep incline leading up to the 7th District.

The KUNSTHALLE wien is clad entirely in red bricks on its exterior. In contrast to the buildings in front of it, its brick exterior makes it reminiscent of a production hall. This idea refers to its focus on changing exhibitions of contemporary art. From the outside, the KUNSTHALLE wien looks like a horizontal rectangular block that has been sliced off on either end. It is an independent building, but closely adjoins the riding hall along its length, and its tiled roof overlaps the edge of the latter's roof. In keeping with the explicit wishes of the KUNSTALLE's management, the only openings for daylight in the building are narrow slits on the front side. Artificial lighting is used consistently to enhance the perception of the art.
The individual buildings are unified by the context of the complex itself and by elements such as the shared courtyards with their many outdoor restaurants.

Continuing the tour from the Main Entrance and along the Fischer von Erlach Wing to the left in the direction of Mariahilfer Strasse, you come to Fürstenhof, home of the MuseumsQuartier's three children's institutions: ZOOM Kindermuseum, DSCHUNGEL WIEN Theaterhaus, and wienXtra-kinderinfo. In former times, the carriage house and horse pond were located here. If you continue to Klosterhof, you will come through one of the four creatively designed theme passages in the complex, KABINETT comic Passage, with a ceiling fresco by Stéphane Blanquet. Klosterhof leads to Mariahilfer Strasse, one of the largest shopping streets in Austria.

After passing through the Main Entrance, if you head in the other direction along quartier21 in the Fischer von Erlach Wing, you will come to the theme passage dedicated to sound art, TONSPUR_passage in the Staatsratshof. In centuries past, this section of the complex accommodated the saddlery, more carriage houses, and leather and hay chambers. Today it is home to the Architekturzentrum Wien, designforum Wien, and Combinat fashion boutique. Turning left, another passage leads to the Sattlerhof. In the 19th century, Empress Sisi had an octagonal circus riding hall built here. Today you will find the library of the Architekturzentrum in the same spot.

Going back to the Fischer von Erlach Wing, in imperial times the site of the horse stables on the ground floor, you come to the Oval Hall and Arena21. Both of these event halls can be rented by organizations and individuals for a wide variety of occasions, ranging from company parties to trade shows. The quartier21 exhibition space freiraum quartier21 INTERNATIONAL is located in this area as well. On the other side, on the ground floor, are Walther König's bookstore, Kantine restaurant, and Electric Avenue. The latter is also part of quartier21. The upper floors of the Baroque structure, formerly the residences of employees of the royal court, still contain several private apartments. Other areas have been converted to the offices of the MQ's management organization MuseumsQuartier Errichtungs- und Betriebsgesellschaft and cultural offices of quartier21.