AustriArchitektur

An exhibition organized by the Aedes East International Forum for Contemporary Architecture Austri A rchitecture Seven Austrian Debuts Aedes East, Rosenthaler Str. 40-41, Hackesche Höfe, Hof II, 10178 Berlin

Opening: Friday June 17, 2005, 6:30 PM

Exhibition dates: June 17 – July 21, 2005

Opening hours: Tue - Fri 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM, Sat/Sun 1:00 – 5:00 PM

Considering its diminutive size, Austria has for centuries consistently produced an abundance of distinguished architectural creators. This land has offered fertile soil for the building arts and for architectural training, and a generation of internationally recognized planners and thinkers has now assumed teaching responsibilities. And apparently succeeded in transmitting, alongside professional knowledge, a certain self-confident stance, in imbuing a successor generation with conspicuous audacity.

Does this mean a relatively unfettered approach toward architectural undertakings? Where lies the origin of this difference? The exhibition "Austri A rchitecture – Seven Austrian Debuts” is not simply designed to present a rising generation of Austrian architects with the usual parade of attractive buildings.

Instead, the emphasis is on individuals, on the attitudes that have enabled them to take the courageous step of practicing the profession of architecture independently. Foregrounded here are the individual identities of the various offices and teams, the unusual stance of the "lone fighter” (one that remains even less available to women), including all of the aspects and criteria governing the conceptualization, working methods and design techniques of these working collectives, all the way to the resulting formal statements. Why in Austria? And why in these specific locations? Why work independently, and on the basis of which motivating visions?

These are some of the questions to which the participating architects respond in their contributions. All installations and presentations have been conceived especially for this exhibition, and the exhibition design offers a common platform for representing various individual positions.

The team "heri&salli” (Heribert Wolfmayr and Josef Saller) have taken the image of the nest as their point of departure, enmeshing spectators and spaces in webs of red cords. The installation unfolds as a portfolio of projects that create relationships between individuals, spaces, and materials, and whose function and significance are generated by these very interactions.

Their work is characterized by a lightness that oscillates between the carefree and the melancholy, by a high degree of commitment, and by a delight in experimentation. They employ classical — and for their generation almost unorthodox — means such and hand drawn sketches and models, as well as textual theses addressing fundamental architectural themes.

"raumhochrosen” (Heike Schlauch and Robert Fabach) came from Baden-Württemberg and the Steiermark to study in Vienna, and have in the meantime pitched their tent in the virulent architectural landscape of Vorarlberg. There, they are currently at work in the widely disparate areas of building — mediation — reflection: in the realms of residence and work, in planning and mediation processes involving children and young people, with a team of authors producing an architectural guide, for cultural and professional magazines, and lately on the conception of a discussion series dealing with Vorarlberg architecture for Kunsthaus Bregenz.

Also located in the zone bordering on art are the projects of Lorenz Potocnik. His approach is characterized by interventions in public spaces, and in particular by an explorative approach. Since parting ways with the collective feld72 last year, he has worked alone and in changing constellations. Without being propelled by a will toward architectural concretion, or being oriented to the cornerstones governing success in the architectural world, he is guided less by directedness toward final goals or solutions, and instead by a desire to develop ideas calmly and at a leisurely pace via detours: in today’s world, a rare attitude indeed.

Early on, conversely, "Synn” threw themselves with relish into the game of taking on enthralling challenges and acquiring competition victories, engaging repeatedly in temporary collaborations with other younger architectural offices.

Besides design work, Michael Neumann, Bettina Krauk and Barbara Urban are interested in the most diverse facets of their profession, from the organization of their occupational group all the way to the smallest nooks and crannies of building codes, whose meticulous sounding raises possibilities beyond what many clients will have dreamt of.

Under the label "SPAN,” Matias del Campo and Sandra Manninger analyze global tendencies and their consequences for architectural development. Scientific, economic, technical, demographic and political developments are regarded as opportunities for reorientation, and their contentual and formal characteristics scrutinized via digitally assisted experimentation. Rolf Touzimsky and Daniela Herold dedicate themselves almost exclusively to urban development and planning. The have developed new concepts of use and new approaches to public space while dealing with themes related to sustainability and problems of reuse, for example in the context of a multidisciplinary collaborative project for a former freight station in the city of Linz. In recent years, they have developed highly diverse systems for effecting territorial transformations.

poolbar (founded by Herwig Bauer) has also discovered fertile ground in Vorarlberg. In this exhibition, it occupies the position of the young enterprise in possession of a high level of architecture awareness. An old indoor swimming hall in Reichenfeld is the setting for the 12th poolbar music festival. Each year, different architects and artists take responsibility for the incisive designs. This year an international competition was announced for the first time; part of the victorious project by "bricolage” will travel together to Berlin with the mobile poolbar (by OCPA büchel & büchel), in order to propagate their understanding of music and architecture while providing guests on the opening evening with the right design and the right drinks, accompanied by the right music.

The exhibition curator is Lilli Hollein, Vienna, (designer / freelance journalist / curator), project management of Aedes: Ulla Giesler, (Magister in cultural studies).

Speaking at the opening will be: Kristin Feireiss, Aedes; Lilli Hollein, Vienna; Dr. Christian Prosl, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria in Germany; Rudolf Schicker, Municipal Councillor for Urban Development and Transport, Vienna.

An Aedes catalog will accompany the exhibition (€ 10.-).