Voestalpine Steel World Exhibition & Museum, Linz

Exhibition Design for a Diverse Visitor Experience

The newly redesigned Voestalpine Steel World takes visitors through five thematic levels. These levels explore the company’s history, the production and processing of steel, its diverse applications, voestalpine’s global presence, and the vision of emission-free production.

NUSSLI served as the general contractor for the construction of the exhibition areas, including the visitor areas with a gift shop, café, and seating areas. The scope of work included all display cases and exhibition panels, a large-format interactive map, and a 27-meter-long all-metal entrance wall. The individual elements blend seamlessly into the exhibition concept and help convey complex industrial content.

"The Grid": A Steel Structure as an Experiential Space

At the center of the exhibition is the “Grid,” a 14-meter-high suspended steel structure. Serving as an architectural element, an exhibit, and a visitor pathway all at once, it forms the spatial centerpiece of the Steel World. Its open structure embodies the idea of an intelligent network that connects technologies, information, and people.

The structure features approximately 140 metric tons of steel, more than 4.4 kilometers of steel profiles, and 8,500 individually controllable LED points. Dynamic lighting scenarios change their effect, constantly showcasing the steel structure in new ways. NUSSLI supplied the display cases for the exhibits within the “Grid,” thereby integrating the exhibits into this defining architectural element.

Exhibition Elements in Combination with Digital Media

Augmented reality, multimedia content on tablets, interactive touch elements, and immersive light installations make the exhibition a multifaceted experience. A 13-meter-long LED table also illustrates the journey of steel from raw material to finished product.

This combination of physical exhibits and digital educational formats posed significant challenges for implementation. All exhibition elements had to be adapted to the technical conditions and be compatible with the interactive applications. At the same time, reliable operation and durability under the demands of daily visitor traffic were crucial.

By implementing the exhibition elements and visitor areas, NUSSLI helped bring the various components together into a cohesive whole. As a result, the Voestalpine Steel World combines high-quality exhibition design with interactive learning, allowing visitors to experience the importance of steel for industry and technology in a variety of ways.