Wien Museum new

The prominence of the location also necessitates a focus on the external appearance and the connection to the surroundings. The “new clothes“ adopt the exact joint pattern of the original stone facade – every joint of the panels was 3D-scanned and re-cut and woven around the building like a new fabric, with finished seams and edges.
The stone panels, in various proportions, determine the rhythm of the surface and communicate in colour, brightness and surface structure with the new concrete construction. This sits on top as an independent cube that seems to float above the building, and stands out strikingly. On the mezzanine level,there is a glazed storey and an open “roof“, from where you can enjoy the view across Karlsplatz – and the treetops. The new Wien Museum spirals upwards inside these layers and the historic building. An important urban development element isthe entrance pavilion, which represents the outstretched hand towards the square and not only extends the museum, butopens it up with a bright reception area.

Breitwieser had the honour of contributing the natural stone facade to this prominenten project. This is something special in many respects. On the one hand, the first natural stone facade in a long time is being realised here in Vienna (overall 2500 m2), which makes a significant contribution to the overall appearance of the building and, in consultation with the Federal Monuments Office, greatly corresponds to the appearance of original facade. On the other hand, the material is “White Shell“, a pale limestone from Croatia, which is characterised by its low water absorption and dense structure.The stone is therefore extremely suitable as a facade material, with regards to protection against frost and mechanical exposure. Furthermore, it hardly heats up, stores heat only to a small extent and thus counteracts the build-up of heat in the city. A natural product with the best properties for a good city climate and an unbeatable ecological balance.