Renovation of the Vienna Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art: "Time Capsule" with Several Items Sealed In

The Vienna Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art now houses a disco ball: As part of the ongoing major renovation of the building, a miniature version of this party-friendly lighting fixture was placed in a "time capsule" along with other items and embedded in the wall on Thursday afternoon. According to Gerald Beck, CEO of the Federal Real Estate Company (BIG), the work itself, which is expected to last until June 2026, is "fully on schedule and within budget," as he assured the APA.

More Transparency and Accessibility Planned

The large-scale renovation of the historic Schönborn Garden Palace in Josefstadt has been in full swing for months. After all, in the future room structure of the Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art, which is currently using Pavilion 1 at the Otto Wagner site as a temporary location, hardly a stone will be left unturned. The redesign by Silberpfeil Architects aims for more transparency and accessibility. Offices will be relocated to the ground floor, freeing up exhibition spaces on the upper floor. Foyers and gastronomy areas will be expanded.

"We are doing very well," Beck said happily when asked about the construction progress coordinated with the monument office, on the sidelines of a media event. Completing on time is important because it is a condition for EU funding, emphasized the BIG CEO. After all, a large part of the renovation financing, 25 million euros, comes from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. The federal government is contributing an additional 2.5 million euros. According to Beck, "the roughest structural work" is now complete, with interior construction and building services to follow.

Certificate, Rainbow Flag, Soybean Seeds

The embedding of the time capsule in a wall section facing Laudongasse was celebrated like a ceremonial act. The gold-glossy tube contains, among other things, a certificate with signatures of the responsible parties present, a rainbow flag, soybean seeds, and the small disco ball. Museum director Matthias Beitl tried to make the selection of objects understandable: The flag stands for solidarity, the soybeans for sustainability, the disco ball for good vibes - with the host also winking at the cult film "From Dusk Till Dawn": "There, a disco ball drives away the evil spirits."

Oliver Schreiber from the Ministry of Culture spoke of a "historic moment" regarding the sealing of the time capsule: "The experts who might open this in 100 years will wonder what once moved us," he joked. Beck saw a "milestone" and promised for the much nearer future: "Mr. Beitl will get a beautiful house." "Not me, we all get this house," the addressed director immediately interjected - and did not forget to give a "big shoutout" to the workers on the construction site. The museum director is certainly not unhappy about the current situation, as he admitted: "I love construction sites."

More on Vienna's Urban Development

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.