This dissertation project examines the Wiener Werkstätte (1903–1932) as a cultural, social, and economic project of Austrian modernism. The central question is whether practices can be identified in the choice of materials, artisanal production, organizational forms, and the clear design language that can be understood as early approaches to sustainability and as precursors to today’s slow design concepts. Sustainability is defined broadly here: in addition to ecological aspects, social relationships in labor and the market, as well as cultural factors such as knowledge transfer, values, and design languages, are also taken into account.

A key focus is on the Wiener Werkstätte’s international appearances—from St. Louis in 1904 through Stockholm in 1917 to Paris in 1925 and 1937. These presentations are interpreted as curated spaces in which images of Austrian identity, cultural capital, and economic interests were negotiated. Furthermore, the work examines developments after 1932 and explores later museum-based and market-related receptions. Methodologically, the project combines archive-based object and exhibition analyses with approaches from cultural sustainability, gender studies, cultural economics, and exhibition history to re-contextualize the role of the Wiener Werkstätte within the interplay of aesthetic innovation, sustainable practice, and social representation.