Haus Portois & Fix, Art Nouveau residential building in Landstraße, Austria
Haus Portois & Fix is a five-story residential building in Landstraße distinguished by a facade with green ceramic tiles and Swedish granite cladding on the lower two floors. The ground floor houses commercial spaces while upper stories contain apartments accessed by a wooden elevator and ornate staircase.
The building was designed and constructed between 1899 and 1901 by architect Max Fabiani as his first project in Vienna for furniture company Portois & Fix. This commission marked the start of Fabiani's successful career in the Austrian capital.
The green ceramic tiles on the facade came from the renowned Zsolnay workshop in Hungary and display the construction year MCM (1900) through artful tile arrangements. This decorative system makes the building a special example of exchange between Austrian and Hungarian craftsmanship techniques of that era.
The building is an easy landmark to spot in the area as the distinctive green facade stands out from a distance. Visitors can admire the architecture from the street and examine the fine details of the facade and metal window covers at their own pace.
The metal covers on the windows are riveted to create the impression of fabric waves, giving the building an unusual three-dimensional quality. This refined decorative detail often goes unnoticed but shows the craftsmanship and attention to detail typical of construction methods from that time.
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