Transcript

Sigmund Freud Museum 2020

A Mission

“But if we want to know what value can be attributed to our view [of] the

development of civilization, […] we must ask ourselves to what influences the

development of civilization owes its origin, how it arose, and by what its course

has been determined.” (Sigmund Freud, Vienna 1930)

Unique and unmistakable, the Sigmund Freud Museum counts among Austria’s most

important cultural assets. More than 90,000 visitors a year from more than 110 countries

demonstrate their interest in Freud’s legacy and the place where he lived for forty-seven

years, studying the human psyche and formulating a radically new self-conception of the

human being. Everyday consciousness, language and cultural behavioural codes are still

profoundly influenced by Freud’s insights. Who today could imagine a world without

Freudian slips, dream-work, sublimation, narcissism, defence mechanisms and superego?

Today, the places where Freud lived and worked are inscribed on international collective

memory as an important factor of memory: as the birthplace of psychoanalysis and as

a memorial site recalling the loss of humanity and civilisation in Austria under Nazi rule.

Committed to the beginnings and the ongoing history of the influence of Freud’s life and

work, the Sigmund Freud Museum is a site of memory and space of thought in one – a

place where our history combines with our present.

In order to showcase Freud’s legacy to an international audience in future too and to bring

the Sigmund Freud Museum in line with international museum standards in keeping with

its significance, we are planning a number of fundamental innovations forty-five years after

the Museum’s opening:

:: Renovation of Berggasse 19 ::

:: Barrier-free access to the Museum and library ::

:: Reorganisation and extension of the Museum to cover a surface of 400 m2 ::

:: Reorganisation of Europe’s largest library of psychoanalysis ::

The costs of the necessary renovation and conversion measures amount to 4.29

million euros – with planning and closure costs included, to be paid for from

external funding and Museum funds, the total costs of the project come to 5.07

million euros. It will take a concerted effort on the part of the Republic of Austria,

the City of Vienna and the support of private sponsors to develop the Sigmund

Freud Museum in keeping with its importance in terms of cultural history and to

preserve it for future generations.

The Sigmund Freud Museum in 2020

A Vision

As of 2020, Sigmund Freud’s former place of work at Vienna’s Berggasse 19 is to

be presented to the public in a form that does justice to the standards of this

unique museum and scientific venue.

:: Renovation of Berggasse 19 ::

The plans include renovation of the façade from the

Gründerzeit period, restoring it to its historical form as

seen by Sigmund Freud’s patients and visitors at the

beginning of the last century. The Museum’s courtyard will

offer a quiet, shaded place in the style of the famous Viennese

inner courtyards from the 19th century. By installing new

cloakrooms and sanitary facilities it will be possible to

cater for the basic needs of visitors to the Museum. The many

visitors to the Sigmund Freud Museum – along with local

residents in the Serviten area, with its university institutes,

businesses and public facilities – benefit from the Café on the

ground floor of the Museum as a social meeting place.

:: Barrier-free access to the Museum and library ::

In line with international museum standards, a lift will enable

barrier-free access to the Museum, the library and its function

room. Complying with conservation regulations and current

building regulations, the rooms open to the public will be adapted

to cater for the needs of visitors with walking disabilities.

:: Reorganisation and extension of the Museum to cover a surface of 400 m2 ::

Sigmund Freud, the most important intellectual of the 20th century and

figurehead of the Wiener Moderne, is at the centre of the new, variable and

critical museum concept focusing on the foundation of psychoanalysis and the

history of its lasting effect.

Contemporary museum interventions, combined with the largely preserved

Gründerzeit architecture of Freud’s living and working rooms, make the Museum a unique,

multilayered experience: the former living rooms of the Freuds, open to the public for the

first time, give insights into the family’s eventful history. Guests can visit the family’s

private rooms and thus learn more about the Freuds’ day-to-day life.

In Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic office, the original furnishings of the waiting room

take visitors on an atmospheric journey back in time to turn-of-the-century Vienna,

allowing them to immerse themselves in the social context of Freud’s work. Themed

displays are set up in Sigmund Freud’s treatment room and adjoining study, that, in

connection with the historic fabric of the building, illustrate day-to-day therapy and

methods of treatment along with the development of psychoanalytic theory. Without

engaging in a historicising reenactment, the reorganisation of the Museum allows visitors

to explore the one-time importance and function of these premises with their special aura.

The empty space created by the absence

of the couch in Freud’s former

treatment room plays a special role in

the new permanent exhibition. This

missing iconic piece of furniture

distinguishes the Museum as a

“vestigial memory space” and also

symbolises the reasons for this empty

space that is inherent to the Museum,

the City of Vienna and Austria: Freud’s

flight from the Holocaust stands pars pro

toto for millions of refugees and

murdered people.

The Museum surface, enlarged from 280 m² to 400 m², caters for constantly

increasing visitor footfall. On different display levels, visitors can learn about

Freud’s biography and family life as well as the development of psychoanalytic

research in theory and practice. There are also rooms for temporary exhibitions

showcasing the current importance of psychoanalysis and the relevance of

Sigmund Freud’s cultural writings.

:: Reorganisation of Europe’s largest library of psychoanalysis ::

In future, the Library of Psychoanalysis will have room for its collection of approximately

40,000 items: the floor above the Museum is devoted entirely to scientific research and,

together with the archive, will offer working space for the scientific team and researchers

working on site on longer-term scientific topics.

The centrepiece of the scientific area and library is a function and reading room that

forges a link between the 20th and 21st century with its classical period look and modern

infrastructure.

Work places with modern equipment for library users, professional service

facilities, and expert storage facilities for the library’s holdings ensure an

appropriate handling of Europe’s largest library of psychoanalysis in keeping with

international standards.

Sigmund Freud Museum 2020

An Opportunity

Sponsors of Sigmund Freud Museum 2020 promote the activation of Freud’s

legacy, enable a wide public to explore this important cultural heritage, and give

people an opportunity to link Vienna’s history with an auspicious future – into the

21st century and beyond.

Sigmund Freud is without a doubt one of the most important figures of the 20th century.

In view of the numerous challenges facing human society today – particularly growing

economisation that demands a high degree of flexibility from people – Freud’s works appear

more relevant than ever: the constantly growing number of visitors is impressive proof of

this relevance.

The task of the Sigmund Freud Museum as an educational institution is therefore to

preserve both the legacy of Sigmund Freud in Vienna and the memory of his life history,

that – like the history of ideas in Vienna as a whole – suffered a hiatus as a result of the

Holocaust: Freud was forced to flee in 1938 and died one year later in London.

By means of communicating, discussing and confronting people with his work, the aim is

to harness the potential of psychoanalysis for the contemporary discourse. Interdisciplinary

science and exhibition programmes open up new perspectives on individual life histories

and social developments that define our present day. One key resource in this respect is

the library of psychoanalysis at the Sigmund Freud Museum, a scientific platform of

international importance founded by Anna Freud – the world’s second-largest study library

on psychoanalysis.

To encourage and develop the current examination of Sigmund Freud’s cultural legacy and

to cater for the needs of our visitors, users and sponsors, we see the further development

of the Museum, library and archive as a platform of education and communication as our

central remit and, at the same time, as an opportunity for Austrian society as a whole.

Sigmund Freud Museum 2020

Breakdown of costs

Schedule of building measures

Renovation of the building and general facilities (including lift, toilets, cloakrooms) € 1.388.862,59 incl. VAT

Renovation of cellar/ground floor/2nd floor € 663.238,24 incl. VAT

Renovation and setup of the Museum (mezzanine) € 1.197.563,29 incl. VAT

Renovation and setup of the library (1st floor) € 1.041.591,95 incl. VAT

TOTAL construction costs € 4.291.256,08 incl. VAT

Closure and planning costs € 775.867,00 incl. VAT

TOTAL project costs € 5.067.123,08 incl. VAT

Datum Baufortschritt

01/04/2017 Call for tenders, general contractor (GC)

30/06/2017 GC hired – start of planning

01/09/2017 Invitation to arch. Competition/Mus., lib.

18/12/2017 Arch. Competition completed

18/12/2017 Submission to MA37 + BDA

30/06/2018 Call for tenders, trades

01/09/2018 Start of construction

01/06/2019 Half-time of construction

01/03/2020 Opening of the Sigmund Freud Museum

Construction costs by

year

2017 215.274

2018

183.559

2019 1.946.212

2020 1.946.212

TOTAL 4.291.256

Sigmund Freud Museum 2016–2020

Facts and figures 2016 2020 Exhibition surface

280

400

(+ 80 on upper

ground floor)

Area of library/archive/ science

120

400

Barrier-free

No

Yes

Cloakroom

No

20 m2

Education rooms

No

Yes

Museum Café

No

Yes

Visitors

90,000

100,000 +

Construction time

2 years

Sigmund Freud Museum closure

max. 12 months

Opening

March 2020

Construction costs

EUR 4.29 million

Total costs incl. closure

EUR 5.07 million


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