A lecture on the touchable model

Designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich and completed in 1898, the Secession building is an icon of art nouveau architecture and a landmark in Vienna’s urban fabric. We want as many people as possible to be able to experience the singular façade design and the unique dome atop the building—and that includes people who cannot see. That is why we have decided to provide our visitors with a touchable model of the Secession.

In this lecture, our gallery manager Miriam Bachmann will recount the planning and technical process behind the model and recall political, administrative, and logistical challenges in exchange with Margarete Waba from the Austrian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted. One focus will be on working with members of the blind community, which helped the Secession’s team consider the building from an unwonted angle. Or as one of them put it: “We teach people how to see.”