Neue Galerie, Wiener Neustadt, Austria

Architects: Matija Bevk, Vasa J. Perović
Text: Eszter Götz
Photos: David Schreyer

The project is a result of a competition held in 2016 that set the task of making the casemates, an ammunition storage structure of the medieval fortress accessible to the general public in the form of a new cultural centre for the city of Wiener Neustadt. The project deals with the issue of reconstruction and integration of historical layers into the life of the city – the historical complex, hidden for a long time, can be experienced and understood in its entirety while accepting a new programmatic definition. The area in front of the casemates is conceived as a gently sloping public square that connects the level of the city to the semi-submerged level of the old structure, receiving visitors with a horizontally glazed ground floor. The visitor is then led through the maze-like structure of the old casemates, that has been transformed into an exhibition venue for the city. The project won Piranesi Award in 2019.

General architecture: Bevk Perović Arhitekti
Architects: Matija Bevk, Vasa J. Perović
Fellow architects: Johannes Paar, Christophe Riss, Mitja Usenik, Blaz Goričan, Irene Salord, Maša Kovač, Juan Miguel Hererro, Vid Tancer, Andrej Ukmar
Client: City of Wiener Neustadt