Original Plan of the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry (today MAK): Façade Facing the Ringstrasse

On 12 May 1864 the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry (today MAK) was opened—initially tentatively in the premises of the Ballhaus building next to the Vienna Hofburg. Due to the lack of space there, the construction of a separate museum building was quickly driven forth. For this project the museum was allocated the former parade ground of the defense barracks in front of the Stubentor next to the newly established municipal park adjacent to the Ringstraße, which was still under construction. The elevation view shown here is the original plan which Heinrich von Ferstel handed in for the application in the form of a watercolor drawing. Ferstel based his draft on a Renaissance building in the style of a Florentine villa. This plan already rudimentarily included the later implemented program of façade ornaments with tondi made of majolica as well as sgraffiti, a technique rediscovered at the end of the 19th century. Also, in this plan you can already recognize the generously designed glass panels for the light openings in the roof. Only for a few details, such as the railing around the roof or the architectural implementation at the base, a different solution was found. The inauguration of the building at the Stubenring took place after a construction period of only three years on 15 November 1871.