The Reading Island translates a cultural everyday practice unique to Vienna into a site specific object for the MuseumsQuartier. It draws inspiration from the Viennese Sonntagsstandl, weatherproof bags attached to traffic signs, and combines it with a modular island structure that provides both seating and storage.
All materials follow circular economy principles. They are durable, repairable, reusable, or recycled. The structure is modular, transportable, and composed of interchangeable parts. Integrated into the new landscape concept with four permanent planting islands, it establishes a flexible, informal and low threshold system for sharing media. The main courtyard of the MuseumsQuartier is reimagined as an extended living room where reading and exploring publications becomes a collective urban practice.
The base fulfills multiple functions at once. It acts as a robust, low maintenance storage system for books and catalogues from the various institutions of the MuseumsQuartier while also functioning as seating for visitors. Above the base, three supports hold weatherproof transparent bags, referencing the Sonntagsstandl. These bags display publications in a visible and protected way. At the top of each support, a light fixture references a reading lamp. At night, the lighting becomes an identity forming element. It enhances visibility, safety and recognizability while creating an atmospheric space for pause and encounter.
Bika Rebek, Sophie Schaffer, Lena Antonowitsch
CLIENT:
Vienna Design Week/ Museumsquatier Vienna
SQUARE FOOTAGE:
10m²
IMAGES:
Some Place Studio
LOCATION
Museumsquatier, 1010 Vienna
Completed in January 2026