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chair exhibition
© BMobV/Edgar Knaack

Exhibiting Design

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Design has a long tradition in Vienna. A number of Vienna’s museums offer an overview of design past and present.

When they cross the threshold of the attractive red-brick building on Vienna’s Ringstrasse, visitors enter a world of furniture, textiles, carpets, wood and metal designs, glass and ceramics. The MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna is the first port of call for design collections in Vienna. Founded in 1863 as the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, the MAK’s permanent collection still brings together applied arts, design, architecture and contemporary art – bridging antiquity and the present day, from Asian art to the Wiener Werkstätte (established in 1903 by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser). The MAK has the largest collection of items produced by Wiener Werkstätte in the world.

The new MAK Design Lab is also well worth a visit, presenting design around everyday themes such as cooking, eating and drinking, seating and decorating, as it has changed over time. One area displays exhibits from the archive of Helmut Lang, who was born in Austria and is one of the most influential fashion designers of the last 30 years.

MAK Design Lab

MAK

– © MAK/Georg Mayer
MAK - Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art

MAK

– © WienTourismus/Lois Lammerhuber
Dishes in the Food and Drink theme section at the Design Lab, MAK Austrian Museum of Applied Arts

MAK Design Laboratory: Themed island Food & Drink

– © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
Exhibition room in the MAK show collections

MAK

– © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
Furniture for the Vienna Post Savings Bank, designed by Otto Wagner, produced by the Thonet brothers, Vienna around 1904/06

Vienna Furniture Museum

– © Bundesmobilienverwaltung, Foto: Lois Lammerhuber
Music room, Vienna approx. 1815

Vienna Furniture Museum

– © Bundesmobilienverwaltung, Foto: Lois Lammerhuber
chair exhibition

Vienna Furniture Museum

– © BMobV/Edgar Knaack
Augarten

Augarten Palace

– © Porzellanmanufaktur Augarten
Mocha service by Josef Hoffmann for Augarten Porzellan

Augarten porcelain: Melon service by Josef Hoffmann

– © Augarten Wien
Porcelain Museum in the Augarten

Augarten Porcelain Museum

– © Augarten Porzellan
Flower vase

Vases by Philipp Bruni for Augarten

– © Porzellanmanufaktur Augarten
Design Forum in the MuseumsQuartier

Designforum

– © Katsey
MAK Design Lab

MAK

– © MAK/Georg Mayer
MAK - Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art

MAK

– © WienTourismus/Lois Lammerhuber
Dishes in the Food and Drink theme section at the Design Lab, MAK Austrian Museum of Applied Arts

MAK Design Laboratory: Themed island Food & Drink

– © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
Exhibition room in the MAK show collections

MAK

– © MAK/Katrin Wißkirchen
Furniture for the Vienna Post Savings Bank, designed by Otto Wagner, produced by the Thonet brothers, Vienna around 1904/06

Vienna Furniture Museum

– © Bundesmobilienverwaltung, Foto: Lois Lammerhuber
Music room, Vienna approx. 1815

Vienna Furniture Museum

– © Bundesmobilienverwaltung, Foto: Lois Lammerhuber
chair exhibition

Vienna Furniture Museum

– © BMobV/Edgar Knaack
Augarten

Augarten Palace

– © Porzellanmanufaktur Augarten
Mocha service by Josef Hoffmann for Augarten Porzellan

Augarten porcelain: Melon service by Josef Hoffmann

– © Augarten Wien
Porcelain Museum in the Augarten

Augarten Porcelain Museum

– © Augarten Porzellan
Flower vase

Vases by Philipp Bruni for Augarten

– © Porzellanmanufaktur Augarten
Design Forum in the MuseumsQuartier

Designforum

– © Katsey

Furniture and porcelain

Meanwhile, at the Vienna Furniture Museum furniture takes center stage, as the name suggests. The former imperial and royal furniture depot was entrusted with looking after the furnishings used in the various Habsburg households. With a focus on Biedermeier and Historicist styles, the museum provides a fascinating insight into interior design culture over the centuries, taking in everything from an imperial wheelchair to Empress Elisabeth’s bed chamber in the Hungarian town of Gödöllö to distinctive Thonet bentwood furniture.

The Augarten Porcelain Museum walks visitors through the history of porcelain making in Vienna from its inception right through to the present day. And at the Designforum in the MuseumsQuartier, the focus is on the creative industries and contemporary design, with regular exhibitions showcasing graphic design, multimedia work and product design.

MAK - Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna

Stubenring 5 , 1010 Wien

  • Vienna City Card

  • Prices

    • Young people under 19   €0

  • Opening times

    • Tu, 10:00 - 21:00
    • We, 10:00 - 18:00
    • Th, 10:00 - 18:00
    • Fr, 10:00 - 18:00
    • Sa, 10:00 - 18:00
    • Su, 10:00 - 18:00

  • Accessibility

    • Side entrance
      • no steps
        at the staff entrance Weiskirchnerstrasse (Cobbled Street)
    • Elevator available
    • Further information
      • Seeing eye dogs allowed
      • Wheelchair accessible restroom available.
    • Comments

      Elevator to the exhibition rooms.

Map Points of interest in the area
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Vienna Furniture Museum

Andreasgasse 7, 1070 Wien

  • Vienna City Card

  • Opening times

    • Tu, 10:00 - 18:00
    • We, 10:00 - 18:00
    • Th, 10:00 - 18:00
    • Fr, 10:00 - 18:00
    • Sa, 10:00 - 18:00
    • Su, 10:00 - 18:00
    • also open on: Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Mondays between December 24 and January 6.

  • Accessibility

    • Main entrance
      • no steps (Double swinging doors   180  cm  wide )
    • Elevator available
      • 90 cm wide and 160 cm low , Door 90 cm wide
    • Further information
      • Seeing eye dogs allowed
      • Wheelchair accessible restroom available.
    • Special offers for people with disabilities

      Seeing-eye dogs permitted. Guided group tours for wheelchair users on request.

    • Comments

      All areas accessible via elevator. Elevator 3rd-5th floor.
      Lifting platform to the first floor: door width: 83 cm, cabin depth: 117 cm, cabin width: 75 cm. Access to the restaurant / café: no steps.

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Porcelain Museum in the Augarten

Obere Augartenstraße 1, 1020 Wien

  • Vienna City Card

  • Prices

    • Adults   €6

  • Opening times

    • Mo, 10:00 - 16:00
    • Tu, 10:00 - 16:00
    • We, 10:00 - 16:00
    • Th, 10:00 - 16:00
    • Fr, 10:00 - 16:00
    • Sa, 10:00 - 16:00

  • Accessibility

    • Main entrance
      • no steps (Double swinging doors )
    • Elevator available
      • 150 cm wide and 180 cm low , Door 120 cm wide
    • Further information
      • Seeing eye dogs allowed
      • Wheelchair accessible restroom available.
Map Points of interest in the area
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Designforum Wien in the MuseumsQuartier

Museumsplatz 1, Hof 7, 1070 Wien
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