Österreichisches Verkehrsbüro, Cultural heritage building near Karlsplatz, Vienna, Austria.
The Kleines Haus der Kunst, formerly the Novomatic Forum, is a free-standing Art Deco building at Friedrichstraße 7, built 1922–1923 by Otto Wagner pupils Hermann Aichinger and Heinrich Schmid on a leftover plot between Karlsplatz and Naschmarkt. It faces the Jugendstil Wiener Secession; the two architects also designed the Bärenmühlenhaus across the street. Renovated 2008–2009 by architect Adolf Straitz, it gained a wheelchair ramp.
The building was constructed from 1922 to 1923 to plans by Otto Wagner's students Hermann Aichinger and Heinrich Schmid, on a leftover plot between Karlsplatz and Naschmarkt, facing the Secession. It served as the headquarters of the Österreichisches Verkehrsbüro, a large international travel agency, until 2007. The Novomatic gaming group then bought it for around ten million euros and marketed it as the Novomatic Forum after renovation.
The building's successive names trace its uses: it was the Verkehrsbüro travel agency's headquarters until 2007, became the Novomatic Forum after renovation, and took the name Kleines Haus der Kunst when it opened in October 2021. A full-day restaurant run by Martin Ho's Dots Group operated under lease from May 2021; a rent dispute in February 2023 led to the restaurant entrance being bricked up and the lease dissolved.
The building stands alone on a leftover plot on Friedrichstraße 7, between Karlsplatz and the Naschmarkt, facing the Secession across the street. A wheelchair ramp added during the 2008–2009 renovation by architect Adolf Straitz provides step-free access. The entrance to the former Dots restaurant was bricked up in 2023 during a rent dispute, so check which doors are in use before setting out.
The facade was painted entirely white in 2021 despite heritage rules requiring its original two-tone scheme with reddish side wings; the former owner was sued by the Federal Monuments Office over it. The architects Hermann Aichinger and Heinrich Schmid, both students of Otto Wagner, also designed the Bärenmühlenhaus across the street.
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