MUSEUM SHOP IN SCHÖNBRUNN PALACE
Vienna, 13th District
1992 - 1993
TEXTPHOTOSPLANS
GMMK , Foto: Elisabeth Mayr-Keber , Gert M. MAYR-KEBER ZT-GmbH. Shop im Schloss Schönbrunn 1992-1993

As part of the measures undertaken to revitalise Schönbrunn Palace and its grounds, the museum shop, situated immediately adjacent to the State Apartments, was one of the first accents to be placed in the establishment of a corporate identity. After visitors have viewed the State Apartments, where they are exposed to a flood of visual stimuli, they enter a plainly restored, 'neutral' room containing a small number of simple yet elegant showcases and are thus 'conditioned'; to enhance this effect, they then pass along a corridor faced in black glass, which further soothes the overstimulated eye.

This corridor has been converted from a former servant's passage, enabling the visitor to experience the State Apartments 'from behind the scenes' on the one hand and also deliberately extending the route of access to the shop on the other. The narrow, almost labyrinthine path constitutes the optimum approach to the museum shop area, which is contained within spacious rooms.

The theme 'narrowness - space' is a co-determinant factor in regulating the tempo of the flow of visitors. Design measures within the shop are essentially limited to ensuring the optimum presentation of the items on sale, whether in the form of specially designed shelving, postcard racks or lighting.

As the basic texture for the closed surfaces of the shop fittings, the leaf motif from the upholstery and curtain fabric in Emperor Franz Joseph's study was used, albeit translated into a different material.