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Belvedere Castle

Orientation & Information System

A well-known Austrian and Viennese cultural destination, the Belvedere Museum, attracts international and domestic audiences with its three locations and baroque parkland. First and foremost, visitors know the Upper Belvedere because of its iconic Canaletto view of Vienna and the collection with the highlight “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt.

Beyond that, however, the Belvedere offers much more. Our goal with a new way finding system was to make the diverse offerings visible from the Lower Belvedere on Rennweg to Belvedere 21 across the Gürtel and to make the locations intuitively comprehensible via signage.

Entrance area of the Belvedere Palace with red flags
Detail of the entrance gate with red flag that says tickets and carries a pictogram for information
Entrance door made of glass with side wings on which are placed red flags, on the left stands Belvedere, on the right stands tickets and information

Concise and intuitive

Structural optimizations in the historical inventory offered the opportunity to consistently redesign the orientation for the entire area, the interior spaces and in the media.

The new system provides orientation for the large number of visitors, but interferes as little as possible with the baroque substance.

Entrance area with orientation system installed in the portico, and people walking through

Flags as information carriers

The new system is based on the basic idea of a flag. It marks a place, is flexible and lively-festive in appearance. This design principle is the leading idea for all outdoor and indoor information carriers.

The flags are light, translucent and easy to adapt. The elegant supporting structure only needs a few mounting points. It thus meets the strict requirements of monument protection.

People in a staircase with archway where the orientation system is installed as a white board overhead
Detail of orientation system on a white sign with black and red writing, a red bust in the background

Subtle adaptation to the architecture

Whether white plastered wall, stateroom with baroque fresco, marble or mirror surroundings – the textile adapts to the setting in terms of color and subtly blends into the historical substance.

Two people standing in front of a human sized orientation map
Man strolling through the historic rooms of the Belvedere, through a room with wall tapestry
Site map of the Belvedere in the context of the city of Vienna

Intuitive map language - inclusive design

The area of the three museum locations of the Belvedere is located in the center of Vienna and is directly intertwined with the urban space. The linking with public transport, other landmarks in vicinity and the quick overview of distances were therefore the focus of the design. Bilingual and with the support of icons, the information system can also be used by international visitors.

Pictograph family for the Belvedere
Man walking through a door with a series of pictograms displayed on a sign on the side of it
Pyramid writing and Braille on the orientation system for inclusive wayfinding

After the conversion, the museums are largely barrier-free. This requirement was also the benchmark for the design of the information carriers and media. Thus, visual information is supported by guidelines and tactile writing, as well as audio output.

Handrail with path guidance applied in Braille

Analog, and digitally linked

Digital media are ideal for dynamic content such as exhibition information or ticket information. They complement the analog signaling, plus are editorially and visually synchronized with the content on the website. In this way, visitors can orient themselves through the poster designs that they already know from the web or hanging in the city.

Digital screen for displaying changing information

 

 

People standing in front of a door next to which various digital displays with exhibition information are installed

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