The new French Embassy in Vienna is located at 2 Technikerstraße, within two art nouveau buildings from the beginning of the twentieth century, with an Art Nouveau identity. These two buildings required refurbishment and a vertical extension both modern and respectful of the site’s historic background. The architectural heightening of one of the buildings was logically thought in the spirit of art nouveau, symbolizing the relationship between France and Austria, both very active in this movement.
To follow through, Studio Malka developed a light and modular extension, prefabricated in our workshop and installed onsite.
In this twenty-first-century art nouveau project, rhythms and curved shapes inspired by nature are not used as ornamentation but in the service of its architecture; these modular extensions are circular light cannons. Originally developed in ancient Egypt, this system collects, amplifies, and diffuses natural light in the entire building, while also creating natural ventilation.
More than a century after its debut, the new French Embassy in Vienna reconnects with art nouveau’s fundamental DNA, while at the same time placing the project in the contemporary architectural landscape.