Diary
The Radar: Lilli Hollein
Designer Lilli Hollein’s Vienna
In this edition of The Radar—Ursula magazine’s uncommon cultural recommendations from our friends and colleagues around the world—Lilli Hollein, designer and director of Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (Museum für angewandt Kunst, known as MAK), takes us through the city ahead of “Water Pressure: Designing for the Future,” an exhibition organized in collaboration with the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg and Jane Withers Studio, London.
I love living in Vienna. It’s where I was born, and have watched the city change and grow through the decades. It has always had its beautiful buildings and gardens and a topography surrounded by nature, but in the 1970s, like many cities, it was a bit faded, even after the rebuilding efforts that took place after the war. From the 1980s on, an increasing and noticeable effort to reinvigorate the city has been underway.
Vienna’s imperial heritage has certainly shaped the city, but the Red Vienna between the two world wars also laid the cornerstones for the city’s groundbreaking social-housing strategy, which has improved the quality of life for many. It’s inspiring to live and work among artists, in a city where theater and opera remain affordable; where cultural issues are widely and passionately discussed; and where high culture and offbeat spaces coexist easily, making it truly possible to live in both worlds. This list is an attempt to make the sophisticated singularity of my city tangible.
Josephinum. Courtesy The Medicean Venus, around 1785 © Josephinum/Alexander Ablogin
Film still, Julian Charrière, And Beneath It All Flows Liquid Fire, 2019, on view in “Water Pressure” © Julian Charrière; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Germany
Josephinum
This museum of medical history, whose roots stretch back to 1785, is famous for its collection of absolutely stunning anatomical and obstetrical wax models from the 18th century.
Vienna Philharmonic Ball
The truth is that Viennese of all generations still go to balls! My favorite is the elegant Vienna Philharmonic Ball, which takes place in the magnificent ambience of the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.
Café Prückel & Café Engländer
Start your day just opposite the MAK with a typical Viennese breakfast at the Café Prückel, a beloved place that has been open on Vienna’s Ringstrasse since 1903 (breakfast is available until 2 p.m.), and end it at the Café Engländer, a brasserie that has hosted the art scene and journalists for decades. A perfect spot for breakfast meetings, easy lunches or long evenings.
Gasthaus Wolf
One of my favorite places to enjoy Viennese Wirtshaus culture and traditional dishes like schnitzel, goulash and calf’s liver.
Baroque Rococo Classicism room at MAK. Artistic intervention: Donald Judd © Gerald Zugmann/MAK
Schullin at the Looshaus
The jeweler Schullin recently took over the retail area of the iconic Adolf Loos House on Michaelerplatz, one of Vienna’s most famous modernist buildings, a masterpiece by Loos, completed in 1916.
Lobmeyr Store
It’s always a temptation to walk in to buy some Martino Gamper or Oswald Haerdtl glasses, or maybe one day a chandelier!
Gallery Scene
Don’t miss Meyer Kainer, Charim, Martin Janda, Christine König, Georg Kargl, Exile, Vin Vin and City Gallery.
Museum of Applied Arts
Long before I became its director in 2021, the MAK was one of my favorite museums—a hidden gem for tourists, a must-see for experts. Our Baroque Rococo Classicism room was designed in 1993 by Donald Judd, and the Empire Style Biedermeier room was designed the same year by Jenny Holzer. In November 2025, we’re excited to reopen our permanent collection in collaboration with the artist Markus Schinwald, and to present the exhibition “Textiles and Carpets” with Studio Formafantasma.
“Water Pressure: Designing for the Future” remains on view at the MAK in Vienna through September 21, 2025.
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Lilli Hollein is the general director and artistic director of the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. She was a co-founder and the longtime director of Vienna Design Week. Hollein has curated a number of exhibitions around the globe, and her writing has been published extensively.