Wien Museum Neu Competition
The key word is transformation. Transform the Wien Museum rather than merely provide an addition. This is established by a set of four assertive actions that intend to convert the nature of this cultural structure.
It starts by detaching the museum from the Winterthur building, standing free as an isolated pavilion. This gesture is associated to a depuration exercise that summarizes the Haerdtl into a more abstract form.
From this basis a new height is set binding the buildings around the Karlsplatz. An action of integration and coherence that seeks to visually enclosure the square from the nearby blocks and their silhouette. This structure emanating from the Haerdtl, rises as an extrusion of the actual building – characterized by the same material but with a strong contemporary nature.
From here a new grid is set underground towards the Karlsplatz integrating wide and flexible halls suited for the needs and expectations of contemporary art.
Above this grid a towering element is set anchoring the museum to the square, sheltering the entrance and providing an enhanced public amenity that invites visitor to approach and experience. Thereupon the museum becomes a reference, seeking to respect the strict and clear geometry of the original building, adding an iconographic nature. The materials are homogenous and set up a strong relationship with the existing without mimicking it.
This new volume is carefully composed in relation to its location. A slice is made to announce the entrance, reducing its scale and weight, allowing also to establish see-through from the Lothringerstraße to the Karlskirche dome. The openings are placed with criterion, framing different moments from the Karlsplatz, while on the upper floor the Wien Room is set with a privileged view over the canopy of the tree.
More than a wall to the square, the scope delivers an addition to Karlsplatz increasing the opportunities for visitor and residents to sit, relax and socialize. A solution that seeks to define the eastern side of the square, providing an urban asset that can unify, integrate and enhance the public real surrounding the Museum and Karlskirche.
