The decorative in urban Vienna: Its preservation
Manfred Köller
The Vienna cityscape has retained its nucleus of the Roman fort through Medieval times to present. Since thirteenth century it been enlarged, and outlines changed again with building new fortifications in sixteenth seventeenth centuries. Gardens spread around perimeter during eighteenth until Ringstraße after 1857 replaced dismantled bastions. Vienna's cathedral, Court, palaces, public private houses characteristic built features including details such as pavings, lighting or railings, symbolic ornaments on buildings spaces, all illustrate aspects decorative. In 1864–1874 first museum school for applied arts mainland Europe set standards techniques design decoration. 1889 Camillo Sitte his book urban architecture promulgated idea retaining historic growing cities, regarding them artistic creations. 1895–1905 plans adapt narrow city streets modern traffic following example Paris would have destroyed large areas, but were cancelled time. Adolf Loos rejected superficial ornamentation 1908 placed bare white plaster coloured marble precious metal façades. Around 1900 Otto Wagner had even more influence townscape own immense oeuvre works many disciples. Decorations Viennese façades made from a variety stone, lime plaster, stucco since 1847 cement, brickwork glazed tiles, which will be briefly discussed their context, along conservation. Colouring, mainly ‘stone colours’, examined can compared paintings fifteenth onwards. There is less direct evidence painted centuries, only small traces still survive. From time frescoes sgraffiti undergone conservation, recent decades combined increasingly scientific examination precise documentation. Major issues conservation within include disruption skyline by construction speculative tall commercial close protected areas (which World Heritage Sites Schönbrunn designated 1996, Belvedere, 2001), reduced context due preservation façade not interior (façadism), expanding elevation additional storeys, aggressive confrontation steel glass.
Studies in Conservation