Schütz Art Museum

Engelhartszell an der Donau, Austria

Add To Collection

Schütz Art Museum

Engelhartszell an der Donau, Austria

Firm

architekturkantine

Type

Cultural › Museum

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2022

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

The new private museum in Engelhartszell, Austria, is intended to become a new landmark. Its three-story modernist structure stands out from the historical city fabric and is easily recognizable from the Danube river.

The idea of the private collector Josef Schütz that one should see from the outside what is on the museum’s display has been successfully implemented by the studio Architekturkantine. The architects use free-standing frames to give the entire building a defined cubature while exposing some art objects outside. This effect is enriched by the generous window areas.

Museums have always served as art storage facilities, while they also are a place where cultural and historical achievements become accessible to people – this idea is basic for Schütz Museum. The building stands completely free, not surrounded by any fence. The wide window openings, terrace areas and the garden seek to establish a direct connection to the Danube river and the surrounding landscape.

Client’s long-standing interest and business connections to China resulted in the desire to design the building according to the ancient Chinese principles of Feng Shui. The architects managed to combine these with the human-scale proportion system of Le Corbusier’s Modulor. The two different sets of rules have been brought into a successful synthesis, down to the smallest detail, contributing significantly to the harmonious overall effect of the museum.

The basic structure of the building represents the 9 trigrams of Feng Shui. The number 9 is of great importance in Chinese numerology and stands for completion, fame and recognition. Every floor plan consists of the grid 3 by 3 areas, where each area is 9 by 9 meters. All the windows are divided into 9 parts, and even in the railing construction of the stairs the distance between the bars is exactly of 9 cm.

The center of the building (in Feng Shui the Tai Ji) is an open staircase which acts as a shaft full of daylight, connecting all functions and levels. It is the center of gravity of the building, receiving energies from all the areas around. The Tai Ji also connects heaven and earth and has to be always active. Literally, the staircase connects the heat pump on the ground with the photovoltaic panels on the roof. It is always illuminated even when the museum is closed, and can therefore be seen as a landmark from the Danube river at night.

The idea of an open house has been articulated in this project. And even if the white modernist cube may initially seam to come up as a "foreign body", in the end it complements the baroque monastery that has dominated the place for centuries.

The building is zero-energy. The water heat pump is powered by electricity from the photovoltaic system. Well-studied insulation thicknesses ensure high energy efficiency. It is self-sufficient and draws its power from its own center, a sort of connection between heaven and earth.

Product Spec Sheet

Were your products used?

Join as a manufacturer to add your products.

Collaborating Firms

Was your firm involved? Add it now.

Team

Were you involved? Add yourself.

Keep Exploring Architizer by Creating a Free Account or Logging in.

Schütz Art Museum

Engelhartszell an der Donau, Austria

Schütz Art Museum

Engelhartszell an der Donau, Austria

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team