THE VIENNA MODEL
100 years of experience
The Vienna Model 1
The exhibition “The Vienna Model. Housing for the 21st Century City” showcases the outstanding achievements of the City of Vienna in the field of housing over the past 100 years.
With its innovative ideas, especially in the field of social housing, the City of Vienna has long been a pioneer in the global pursuit of new strategies for the design and implementation of forward-thinking urban developments and ways of living.
Building on urbanistic and social aspects, Vienna has not only constructed new projects with distinctive qualities throughout the city but also created and revitalised entire urban quarters. With their historical roots in “Red Vienna,” these concepts signal dynamic opportunities to enhance the quality of life in a contemporary metropolis by creating model living environments. The exhibition showcases 60 prototypical projects from the past 100 years. It assigns a special focus to art in public space, which has complemented the city’s housing projects since the First Republic, and was curated by Wolfgang Förster and William Menking.
The exhibition was already shown to great success on several continents, from New York (Austrian Cultural Forum) and Washington (Austrian Embassy) or Hong Kong and Seoul to Warsaw and Dublin.
The Vienna Model 2
Based on Vienna’s centenary tradition of social housing, the follow-up exhibition “The Vienna Model 2” shows how a social housing policy that reflects the needs of all people can continue to succeed in the early 21st century.
This exhibition focuses predominantly on the development of new urban quarters, the evolution and upgrading of the built stock, and citizen participation. Despite this wide range of themes, the project also showcases measures favouring diversity and integration, the use and design of public space or art.
Moreover, this second edition opens up a wider perspective on current developments in housing policy in Vienna as well as Europe, North America and Asia. It focuses above all on projects responding to current developments in society. The Austrian capital tackles challenges – such as substantial population growth – by means of rapid construction programmes using prefab elements. In particular, the exhibition offers insights into details and backgrounds to allow visitors a more in-depth understanding of the issue.