Frida & Fred – Children’s Museum

The Frida & Fred (spelled as FRida & freD) is a children’s museum located in the Graz Augarten.The building was constructed in 2003 under the guidance of architects Hemma Fasch and Jakob Fuchs.

The museum is specifically designed to cater to children between the ages of 3 and 12, offering engaging exhibitions and interactive experiences.The exhibitions are designed with the motto “Hands On – Minds On” in mind, allowing children to actively participate and experiment with various activities.

Frida & Fred is a proud member of Hands On Europe, which is an association of European children’s museums.

Frida & Fred not only showcases annual exhibitions that change regularly but also offers a variety of children’s theater performances and workshops multiple times a week.Since 2010, a laboratory focusing on various exhibition topics such as water, optics, medicine, energy, food, aviation, and genetics has been an integral part of the program.

In addition to the exhibitions, there are several workshops that run concurrently. For example, there is a workshop on Saturdays at two o’clock. Additionally, there are various holiday and special programs offered, as well as the annual summer academy which takes place over the nine-week summer vacation period.

Architecture

The building was constructed under significant time constraints, completed just 10.5 months after the ground-breaking ceremony in January. On November 22, it was unveiled alongside an exhibition in Graz 2003, which was part of the cultural capital year and was planned in collaboration with BEHF Architects from Vienna. The total construction costs were €3.7 million. The building features multiple levels made of steel, concrete, and glass. The middle floors are designed to be wheelchair accessible, with no steps and can be reached by elevator.The side walls consist of inclined HEA steel girders that are reinforced with solid wood.The roof skin and side panels are made of gray PU film to blend with the color of tree bark in the Augarten.

The upper floor’s interior is adorned with perforated plywood panels.The building features ribbon windows that stretch almost entirely around its perimeter. These windows provide an unobstructed view of all levels of the room from the outside. When observed from the inside, the ribbons are typically positioned well above or below eye level, ensuring that visitors are not distracted from the exhibition. Additionally, the windows offer a captivating view of the expansive park beyond.The entire structure is designed to have high transparency, which is achieved through the use of perforated clear plastic foil elements. These elements are stretched under the roof, along with northern skylights, to provide soundproofing.The theater hall features a unique stage-side wall that is partially glazed. This wall is composed of floor-to-ceiling elements that have never been used in this way before.To have control over the lighting in the hall, the entire space was covered with black textile.The architects won the 1st Austrian Architecture Award in 2006 for their building.

The operating team successfully developed a 15-meter long passenger-carrying ropeway indoors above the exhibition area, even while construction was ongoing. The ropeway was supplied by Leitner AG.The passenger operates a hand crank drive to propel themselves. In the subsequent years, the outdoor area that connected to the park was also carefully designed. Additionally, a glass partition was installed to prevent jumping from above into the basement where the padded wave cascade is located.The low entrance height of approximately 2.30 meters restricts the ability to bring in tall exhibits.In 2010, the property adjacent to the north, previously known as the Augarten cinema, underwent construction to increase its height.