MuseumsQuartier Wien

The Museumsquartier Vienna is a district of contemporary arts and culture in the heart of Vienna. On 90,000m2 it encompasses 60 cultural institutions, renowned museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Leopold Museum, as well as a museum and theatre for children and many other institutions and independent cultural initiatives. The Museumsquartier is located at the former old imperial stables and thereby attempts to connect historic architecture with contemporary design. The planning for the MQ already started in the 1970ies. The opening of this urban project took place in 2001. It changed the city’s life in social, economic, ecological, and cultural terms. For the development of the SoPHIA impact assessment model it thereby represents an opportunity to test the model on a case in a very urban area that encompasses interventions in cultural heritage related to the architecture, historic buildings and museums.

[Credit of the pictures are from left to right: „Museumsquartier“ © Nicolas Vollmer/flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 / “Protest im MQ” © _dChris/flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 / “Museumsquartier wien” © mr.gears/flickr.com, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 / „Wien-Museumsquartier“ © Bwag/Wikimedia commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0]

Case Study: MuseumsQuartier Wien
Location: Vienna, Austria
Data availability: Good
Stage of the case: On-going
Type of cultural heritage: Architectural, Historic Building, Museum / Documentary, Project, Programme
Funding / Type of recognition: International / Global level, European level, National level, Regional / Local level, Private
Type of initiation: Policy-driven, Civil society-driven, Business-driven
Financial dimension value: Medium (1-10 mio €)
Physical dimension: Medium (group of buildings)