The Museum of Heidi Horten Collection, Vienna

Architects: Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs, Ernst J. Fuchs – the next ENTERprise architects
Text: György Szegő
Photos: Stefan Oláh

In the 20 years since the opening of the MuseumsQuartier, Vienna’s city centre has become an important international stage for modern and contemporary visual arts. In the middle of summer, the highly prestigious Heidi Horten Collection, which combines urban traditions with the requirements of modern museums, opened its new home in the block between the Opera and the old Albertina building. There was originally a ducal riding school in the jointly used courtyard of the street-fronted building, right next to the Burg, which fits into the architectural landscape of the Ringstrasse, During the last years of the peaceful era of the Monarchy, the Chancellery had an eclectic office building built on its site. The house was purchased three years ago by Heidi Horten, the owner of a collection of modern and contemporary art of European fame. A competition for the conversion peoject was published, and the winning design was submited by the Viennese architectural firm next ENTERprize.
Together with the client, the architects intended to preserve the historic façade, so the tension between the formerly romantic-style office palace forms and the current function of the museum have given room for contemporary spirit.
The former floor plan and the negative spaces between the diagonally structured interior “rectangles” create a flowing spatial impression with pierced floating levels that generate exciting perceptions and transparencies. The 1,500 m2 building retains the corner spaces of the original structure, in which temporary chamber exhibitions will be housed, whilst the permanent exhibition in the new large space is updated on an annual basis.

General architecture: the nextEnterprize, harnoncourt, fuchs & partner
Architects: Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs, Ernst J. Fuchs, Christoph Pehnelt, Alexander Holzmann, Serdar Öztürk, Madeleine Malle, Christoph Neuwirth, Inés Klausberger, Cristina Meregalli, Martina Lajczak, Nathaniel Lorenz, Admir Dzakulic, Vojislav Dzukic
Structure: Bollinger und Grohmann ZT GmbH
Landscape: Land in Sicht GmbH
Light design: Designbüro Christian Ploderer GmbH