Permanent exhibition
a_show
Austrian Architecture in the 20th and 21st centuries
Günther Domenig, Steinhaus, Steindorf, Kärnten, 1986–2008
© Architekturzentrum Wien, Collection, photograph: Margherita Spiluttini
Our permanent exhibition closes at the end of June. Take the opportunity to visit our “a_show”.
The “a_show” offers a compact overview of the development and history of the architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries in Austria along with a unique view of 150 years of architectural production.
In ten episodes the most relevant phenomena and tendencies are shown, while still leaving room for autonomous positions. Starting with Vienna’s growth into an imperial metropolis, the exhibition brings visitors into the field of tension between socio-political experiment, the “conquest” of areas of alpine landscape, the interwoven power structures of the Nazi period, and the rebuilding programme after 1945.
Modernism, experiments and crises
The year 1958 is significant for the development of architecture in Austria. At that time a number of key buildings were completed which signalised the somewhat late arrival of international modernism. Subsequently space travel, the worldwide ascendancy of pop culture and mass media made an impact on the production of architecture. The oil crisis in 1973 brought an abrupt end to utopian concepts, while at the same time marking the start of a variety of experiments in both formal and constructional terms. Current positions from throughout Austria are an important part of the exhibition and are presented in digital form.
Curators: Gabriele Kaiser, Monika Platzer, Az W
Audio Guides
Our audio guides, developed in collaboration with students at the Hertha Firnberg Schule für Wirtschaft und Tourismus in Vienna-Donaustadt, escort you through the exhibition with riveting stories. The entertaining audio dramatisations provide both an informative and an atmospherically rich tour of 150 years of Austrian architecture history.
All 15 projects to listen to in English: