Book «Mid-Century Vienna»

Vienna 1950-1965

Architecture, design and interiors of the 1950s and 1960s can be found everywhere in the city, but have so far received little attention in the collective perception. Yet Vienna, viewed with open eyes, is a single Mid-Century open-air museum. Municipal housing, urban infrastructure, leisure facilities such as the Viennese baths, where even today 10,000s of people spend their leisure time, but also gastronomy, shops and public buildings: they all date from this period and are still used by all of us today.

We are going on the trail of these witnesses of the optimistic years of the economic miracle and want to dedicate a book to them.

Together with photographer Stephan Doleschal, I have visited about a hundred locations in the last eight months. Among them were places we had never heard of before, such as the abandoned command centre of a water reservoir or an active nuclear reactor in the middle of Vienna. But even well-known places we were able to portray in a completely new light – not least thanks to the ongoing lockdown: A deserted Café Prückl, Karl Schwanzer’s new crypt or the Gartenbau cinema before renovation. We will also show intimate insights into Roland Rainer’s housing estates in the book.

Far more than a picture book

Stephan’s images are insightful and atmospheric. They are accompanied by photographs, plans and publications from the past.

In addition, there are high-profile guest contributions such as from housing researcher Susanne Reppé, she examines the urban strategies of municipal housing and takes on the role of flat seekers.

Urban historian Peter Payer writes about the redesign of urban space, while architecture journalist Wojciech Czaja examines how modern Vienna was compared to other cities.

Subculture researcher Al Bird Sputnik, who publishes the successful sampler series «Schnitzelbeat», will take us on a tour through the nightlife of the 1950s and 60s.

This is what we need backing for

Guest authors’ fees, litho costs, editing: all this costs a lot of money for a high-quality book.On top of that, we really want to bring these Winer jewels to the world and therefore the book will be bilingual (German/English). This means additional costs for the translation. In order to finance all this, we are asking for your support.

If our goal is over-funded, we plan to produce a series of postcards and possibly even a wall calendar in 2022.

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