MUMOK: A dark, closed block. The curved roof is pulled far down at the corners; the entire building is enclosed in a 12-cm-thick shell made of basalt lava. An outdoor flight of steps, 10 metres wide, leads to the entrance level that lies 4 metres higher than the level of the courtyard. This entrance level is at the centre of the building in terms of height. There are two main exhibition floors above it and two below; a further basement level is used for depots and the building services.
LEOPOLD MUSEUM VIENNA: A block clad on all sides with white mussel limestone, 24 metres high and embedded 13 metres in the ground. From a distance the single windows give the impression of a private house. Only when closer to the building do you grasp that they are actually oversized in format and measure 2.2 by 3.8 metres.
In angled sunlight the block, initially apparently smooth, reveals differently structured surfaces that give the stony mass a curious transparency, the rooms behind seem to shimmer through the facade.
Information provided in part by: Ortner & Ortner
