I'm escaping this empty city for a few days, destination vienna.
any of you can suggest places to see, things to do? hints on an architecture geek tour are welcome.
The 9th Venice Architecture Biennale opens 11 September, and once again the Peggy Guggenheim Collection has been asked to assist with bringing about the US Pavilion. The Commissioner is Robert Ivy, FAIA, Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Record, with whom we worked at the previous Biennale in 2002, which presented projects for the Twin Towers site and Joel Meyerowitz’s photography of the Ground Zero site. Ivy will organize, together with his co-chairs of the exhibition comittee, Suzanne Stephens and Clifford Pearson an show titled 'Transcending Type.' The exhibiting architects and themes will be Kolatan/MacDonald Studio (Residential Highrise), Reiser + Umemoto (Intermodal Bridge), Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis (Parking Garage), George Yu Architects (Shopping Center), Studio/Gang/Architects (Sports Stadium), and Predock_Frane (Spiritual Space). The exhibition closes 7 November.
there is a loos house, but you should really go check out wagners post office bank. it was great. amazing sense of detial in an otherwise ridiculously ornamented city. if you've never read loos' ornament is crime essay, read it, and then go to vienna. you'll never think loos is crazy again.
also, the viennese secession building, its totally nuts (the inside isnt worth is, just the outside) and in teh Museums Quartier there are two modern museums - one is just Austrian Art, but it was pretty cool and the stark white modernist bldg was decetn, and the other was not that impressive -looks like a great grey hulking thing with not much art in it to speak of...but a cool elevator shaft inside....
Go see the gasworks that Himmelblau turned into a mixed-use housing complex. I trespassed on the construction of this back in 2000 and even then it was quite amazing.
Get a little architecture guide book to Vienna to help you orient yourself. You can use it to find important stuff like the Wagner Post office - a must-see - as well as lesser-known buildings. For example, there's a little Plecnik to be found in Vienna - the Karl Borromaus fountain in the 3rd District is wacky and wonderful, and there's an office building I think in the 1st District that's got a great inner stair.
Wittgenstein's house is very sophisticated. It used to be an art gallery, so it was easy to get in. The polar opposite of that building's intellectual rigor is the Hundertwasser House, an apartment building the residents are allowed to personalize as they wish (to some extent). It's a sort of DIY hippie enclave.
Also try to get into Wagner's church at the insane asylum - I can't remember what it's called, that's why a guide book is so useful.
Skip the Loos houses unless you can get inside them - Loos is really only about interiors.
Off the beaten architecture track, the Josephinum has a set of 19th century life-size anatomical medical waxes - very cool if you like that sort of thing. The one of a flayed woman (wearing pearls) is gorgeous, it reminds me of the concrete stairs in the Williams Tsien Folk Art Museum.
Start at the Architecture Centrum (http://www.azw.at) in the two year old Museum Quarter (http://www.mqw.at/news.en.html) here you can inquire about various buildings and directions to them.
Two of my favorite buildings in Vienna are by Plecnik:
Zacherl Haus, 1st District, 1903-05. This is the one with the stair that Liberty mentions. Offices and shops that is comparable in scale to the Looshaus but overall much more intriguing in its overall form, materials and detailing. If you can sneak past the attendant on the right in the little room (try walking by purposefully) wander up the stairs to check out the detailing on the banisters/lights.
Church of the Holy Spirit, 16th district, 1910-1913. The crypt of this church might possible be my favorite space in Vienna, before you wander out there find an image first so you’re not disappointed.
The fountain is also an oddity worth seeing. There are also several Plecnik Villas around town.
Church Am Steinhof (Lemon Top; at the asylum) 1903-13. Wagner. The church is only open once a week on either Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The hour long lecture is entirely in German so if you don’t understand you can at least sit around and take in the overwhelming detailing and grimace as everyone around you laughs as apparently amusing stories are told. At the end the lecturer usually spends about 10 minutes answering questions in English. I've sat through two of these.
Also check out Wagner’s private S-Bahn station for Franz Joeseph near the Shonbrunn Palace. Once again from the plasterwork passages to the silk and wood lined waiting rooms, nothing is left untouched including the amazing textile work banners.
Everywhere you go you are practically tripping over Wagner’s work, from his 30+ S-Bahn stations and viaducts to locks on the Danube, the work is everywhere. Obviously don't miss the Postal Savings.
Karl Marx Hof – Huge low slung 30s era public housing.
If you head out to the gasworks take in the Central Cemetery and Crematorium. Oh, and the Funeral Museum (Vienna’s Funeral industry is municipally run).
Two odd museums near the medical school beyond the Votive Church are worth investigating if you are nearby.
The Third Man Tour will take you down into the sewers (with burning torches + toxic gasses, brilliant!) and around to sights from the film. Definitely watch this film before going to Vienna to set the mood.
We also have a great inexpensive place to stay where the price hasn't gone up in 10 years!
I’ll post some images here tomorrow. If you have any specific questions, addresse/etc. just ask.
thanks folks!
the place is wonderful, the pre-war stuff having a lot more to give than the more recent things...overall, the first imperial city with a human dimension.
thanks again for all the hints!
Aug 5, 04 7:14 am ·
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Stuff to see in Vienna
I'm escaping this empty city for a few days, destination vienna.
any of you can suggest places to see, things to do? hints on an architecture geek tour are welcome.
The PGC and the Architecture Biennale
The 9th Venice Architecture Biennale opens 11 September, and once again the Peggy Guggenheim Collection has been asked to assist with bringing about the US Pavilion. The Commissioner is Robert Ivy, FAIA, Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Record, with whom we worked at the previous Biennale in 2002, which presented projects for the Twin Towers site and Joel Meyerowitz’s photography of the Ground Zero site. Ivy will organize, together with his co-chairs of the exhibition comittee, Suzanne Stephens and Clifford Pearson an show titled 'Transcending Type.' The exhibiting architects and themes will be Kolatan/MacDonald Studio (Residential Highrise), Reiser + Umemoto (Intermodal Bridge), Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis (Parking Garage), George Yu Architects (Shopping Center), Studio/Gang/Architects (Sports Stadium), and Predock_Frane (Spiritual Space). The exhibition closes 7 November.
One for the diary Paul!
Its close, it begins with a v!
http://www.greatbuildings.com/places/vienna.html
another thing is that Zaha lectures in the University of Applied Arts
http://www.dieangewandte.at/architecture/stories/storyReader$26
What about Freud's house?
ludwig wittgenstein's house he designed for his sister. i think it is bulgarian embassy now.
i never made it to this but there is a "third man" tour of the tunnels & scenes there. sounded great.
isn't there a loos house in vienna, and a bar?
there is a loos house, but you should really go check out wagners post office bank. it was great. amazing sense of detial in an otherwise ridiculously ornamented city. if you've never read loos' ornament is crime essay, read it, and then go to vienna. you'll never think loos is crazy again.
also, the viennese secession building, its totally nuts (the inside isnt worth is, just the outside) and in teh Museums Quartier there are two modern museums - one is just Austrian Art, but it was pretty cool and the stark white modernist bldg was decetn, and the other was not that impressive -looks like a great grey hulking thing with not much art in it to speak of...but a cool elevator shaft inside....
check this out in vienna, and tell us what you think
http://www.area-arch.it/arc_delugan_meissl_images1.htm
then there is the coop-himmelblau movie theatre in vienna . very cool
Go see the gasworks that Himmelblau turned into a mixed-use housing complex. I trespassed on the construction of this back in 2000 and even then it was quite amazing.
yes good call
Get a little architecture guide book to Vienna to help you orient yourself. You can use it to find important stuff like the Wagner Post office - a must-see - as well as lesser-known buildings. For example, there's a little Plecnik to be found in Vienna - the Karl Borromaus fountain in the 3rd District is wacky and wonderful, and there's an office building I think in the 1st District that's got a great inner stair.
Wittgenstein's house is very sophisticated. It used to be an art gallery, so it was easy to get in. The polar opposite of that building's intellectual rigor is the Hundertwasser House, an apartment building the residents are allowed to personalize as they wish (to some extent). It's a sort of DIY hippie enclave.
Also try to get into Wagner's church at the insane asylum - I can't remember what it's called, that's why a guide book is so useful.
Skip the Loos houses unless you can get inside them - Loos is really only about interiors.
Off the beaten architecture track, the Josephinum has a set of 19th century life-size anatomical medical waxes - very cool if you like that sort of thing. The one of a flayed woman (wearing pearls) is gorgeous, it reminds me of the concrete stairs in the Williams Tsien Folk Art Museum.
Start at the Architecture Centrum (http://www.azw.at) in the two year old Museum Quarter (http://www.mqw.at/news.en.html) here you can inquire about various buildings and directions to them.
Two of my favorite buildings in Vienna are by Plecnik:
Zacherl Haus, 1st District, 1903-05. This is the one with the stair that Liberty mentions. Offices and shops that is comparable in scale to the Looshaus but overall much more intriguing in its overall form, materials and detailing. If you can sneak past the attendant on the right in the little room (try walking by purposefully) wander up the stairs to check out the detailing on the banisters/lights.
Church of the Holy Spirit, 16th district, 1910-1913. The crypt of this church might possible be my favorite space in Vienna, before you wander out there find an image first so you’re not disappointed.
The fountain is also an oddity worth seeing. There are also several Plecnik Villas around town.
Church Am Steinhof (Lemon Top; at the asylum) 1903-13. Wagner. The church is only open once a week on either Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The hour long lecture is entirely in German so if you don’t understand you can at least sit around and take in the overwhelming detailing and grimace as everyone around you laughs as apparently amusing stories are told. At the end the lecturer usually spends about 10 minutes answering questions in English. I've sat through two of these.
Also check out Wagner’s private S-Bahn station for Franz Joeseph near the Shonbrunn Palace. Once again from the plasterwork passages to the silk and wood lined waiting rooms, nothing is left untouched including the amazing textile work banners.
Everywhere you go you are practically tripping over Wagner’s work, from his 30+ S-Bahn stations and viaducts to locks on the Danube, the work is everywhere. Obviously don't miss the Postal Savings.
Karl Marx Hof – Huge low slung 30s era public housing.
If you head out to the gasworks take in the Central Cemetery and Crematorium. Oh, and the Funeral Museum (Vienna’s Funeral industry is municipally run).
Two odd museums near the medical school beyond the Votive Church are worth investigating if you are nearby.
The Third Man Tour will take you down into the sewers (with burning torches + toxic gasses, brilliant!) and around to sights from the film. Definitely watch this film before going to Vienna to set the mood.
We also have a great inexpensive place to stay where the price hasn't gone up in 10 years!
I’ll post some images here tomorrow. If you have any specific questions, addresse/etc. just ask.
thanks folks!
the place is wonderful, the pre-war stuff having a lot more to give than the more recent things...overall, the first imperial city with a human dimension.
thanks again for all the hints!
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