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18 July 2024
Climate strategies of the MQ MuseumsQuartier Vienna developed as synergy of landscape architecture, technologies, art, science with reference to the New European Bauhaus
Art, design, fashion and theater enthusiasts in Vienna know the MQ, the MuseumsQuartier, well. Fashion at, for example, visited Vienna Fashion Week last September in a tent in front of the MQ, this year's exhibition of the winners of the Austrian State Prize for Design in the designforum (article), and the premiere of the fashion-related theater piece Lacrima in May (article). The MQ is one of the largest cultural areas in Europe and combines historic and modern architecture, such as the buildings of the two large museums, the Leopold Museum and the mumok. Regular visitors will have noticed that there is literally 'something in the bush' (a German saying meaning that something is cooking). The inner courtyard has been transformed into a kind of plant-art sculpture garden, and if you walk near the lawn in front of the MQ, the scent of a lush meadow is likely to lead your eyes to the field of wild plants.
Yesterday, the MQ released the report on the first year of projects and efforts to make the cultural area climate-neutral and the plans to achieve this by 2030. According to the report, the MQ is guided by strategies developed from EU programs such as the European Green Deal with its initiative New European Bauhaus https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/, which includes the creative aspects of architecture and design to implement sustainability in everyday life.
The creative, artistic aspects are also the most visual for visitors to the MQ, while the energy strategies for heating or cooling don't 'catch the eye' as they are more concerned with what energy sources and technologies are used, specifically mentioning energy conservation and the use of low CO2 technologies. The largest part of the climate report is devoted to the visible changes of the MQ initiative, which is anticipated in its name 'MQ goes Green'. Key actions include extensive greening to improve the quality of outdoor spaces and increase biodiversity, as well as raising awareness of sustainability issues through art interventions in the 22,000 m2 area, of which 5,134 m2 is currently open space with green areas.
A list of plants can even be downloaded from https://www.mqw.at/en/mq-goes-green. These plants were used in the first phase as part of a tailored gardening plan for the courtyards and forecourt. The initiative's largest greening project is led by DnD landscape architects, Anna Detzlhofer, using climate-resilient plants and including strategies for their water management. The first trees and plants arrived in July 2023. During the acclimation phase for root development, they are placed in special containers and root ball structures that look like earth-plant art sculptures.
In the first year, another notable scientific-artistic project, named in the report 'Insect Monitoring', was that of Anita Fuchs, who focused on biodiversity and which species could establish themselves on a 250 m2 test field of wild plants. According to the report, the insect monitoring from July to September showed that 44 insect species could be identified in an observation period of ten hours. In the initial phase, which lasts for two years until 2025, the field continues to blossom.
Image: The picture shows the MQ courtyard with trees and plants of the greening project by the DnD landscape architects, Anna Detzlhofer in 2023. In a video (English subtitles) on https://www.mqw.at/en/mq-goes-green, the MQ director Bettina Leidl and architect Anna Detzlhofer talk about the projects especially about the nursery garden. Photo: © MuseumsQuartier, Photo: Klaus Pichler.
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