Architekturzentrum Wien
Encyclopedia
The Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W) is a museum in Vienna
, in the Museumsquartier
. It is conceived as a centre for exhibitions, events and research into architecture
and related topics, particularly the architecture and urban design
of the 20th and 21st centuries. It is the national architecture museum of Austria
.
Through a range of events and activities, architecture is presented as a "cultural discipline, everyday phenomenon and complex process". These events include professional presentations and seminars, guided tours, children's workshops, publications, and the annual Vienna Architecture Congress. The museum's cafe and restaurant, MILO, is also well known for its interior design.
The documentary and research department operates a specialist non-lending library with 27,000 architectural titles, as well as an online architecture database and lexicon (Architektur Archiv Austria and online-Architektenlexikon) and an archive and collection relating to 20th and 21st century architecture.
. It arose from a collaboration between the national government of Austria and the city of Vienna, and is jointly operated by the Federal Ministry of Education, Art and Culture and Vienna's offices of culture and urban development.
After eight years in temporary exhibition venues in the Museumsquartier, the Az W moved into its present location in 2001. It has around 1,000 m2 of exhibition space at its disposal, and organised over 150 exhibitions, 300 events and 600 architectural excursions in its first 15 years.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, in the Museumsquartier
Museumsquartier
The Museumsquartier is a 60,000 m² large area in the 7th district of the city of Vienna, Austria; it is the eighth largest cultural area in the world. The Museumsquartier contains Baroque buildings as well as Modern architecture by the architects Laurids and Manfred Ortner . The renovation of the...
. It is conceived as a centre for exhibitions, events and research into architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and related topics, particularly the architecture and urban design
Urban design
Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
of the 20th and 21st centuries. It is the national architecture museum of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Activities
The permanent exhibition "a_schau. Österreichische Architektur im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert" displays the history of Austrian architecture from 1850 to the present. The changing exhibitions present contemporary architecture, offering new perspectives on architectural history and future developments.Through a range of events and activities, architecture is presented as a "cultural discipline, everyday phenomenon and complex process". These events include professional presentations and seminars, guided tours, children's workshops, publications, and the annual Vienna Architecture Congress. The museum's cafe and restaurant, MILO, is also well known for its interior design.
The documentary and research department operates a specialist non-lending library with 27,000 architectural titles, as well as an online architecture database and lexicon (Architektur Archiv Austria and online-Architektenlexikon) and an archive and collection relating to 20th and 21st century architecture.
History
The centre was founded in 1993 as a non-profit organisationNon-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
. It arose from a collaboration between the national government of Austria and the city of Vienna, and is jointly operated by the Federal Ministry of Education, Art and Culture and Vienna's offices of culture and urban development.
After eight years in temporary exhibition venues in the Museumsquartier, the Az W moved into its present location in 2001. It has around 1,000 m2 of exhibition space at its disposal, and organised over 150 exhibitions, 300 events and 600 architectural excursions in its first 15 years.