3x Peichl & Partner
Gustav Peichl is one of Austria's most celebrated architects. In his contentions with the diverse currents conditioning developments in contemporary architecture, he is consistently critical, while enjoying the luxury of fidelity to his own conception of architecture in both practice and theory.
Peichl's recent works reflect characteristic leitmotifs such as "architecture is the totality of space, function, material and light," or "design affectations are superfluous in architecture." For him, it is futile to pursue modish extravaganzas; instead, the search is for architecture as a poetics of construction. Peichl has been a significant influence on architecture in Germany, especially through his Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn and his Städel Museum in Frankfurt. Already in the 1970s, with his ORF Studios in Austria, he achieved a milestone in the continued evolution of Classical Modernism.
For the first time in the Galerie Aedes East, Peichl now presents a trio of selected works from recent years in collaboration with partners Rudolf F. Weber, Christoph Lechner and Katharina Fröch.
• The Messe Wien, Vienna's new fair and convention center, was completed in early 2004. Besides the implicit task of producing a highly modern exhibition and convention complex, an intrinsic aspect of the commission was to create a new identificatory emblem for the Prater as well as for Vienna as a whole. The center stands as an instance of timeless architecture in the context of contemporary Viennese building.
• The "Toskanahof" (Tuscany Courtyard), an urban residential building, was erected across from Clemens Holzmeister's broadcasting studios on the site of the former Palais Toskana, which suffered destruction in wartime. On the one hand, this building is a manifestation of the self-image of a cultivated Viennese lifestyle. On the other, elements and motifs of a familiar iconography have infiltrated into the architectonic elaboration, allowing them to dazzle as a "picture puzzle of the Eros of building."
• The "Austria Tower" in Dubai and the "Mirage Towers" in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia continue a series of high-rise projects dating from recent years. The tower is an architectural archetype.
These high-rise projects, their designs supervised by Christoph Lechner, treat thematic areas that often recur in the work of the studio: expressive architectural sculpture, the crown, sharply formulated floor geometries, and sign character or iconicity.
Sketches, working models, visualizations, plans, photographs and a video featuring interviews provide insights into the inventive processes and working methods of the architectural team.
Peichl & Partner Architekten was established in 2002. Besides Gustav Peichl, the partners are Rudolf F. Weber, Christoph Lechner and Katharina Fröch.
Speaking at the opening will be:
Kristin Feireiss, Berlin
Rudolf Schicker, Executive City Councilor for Urban Development, Traffic and Transport, Vienna
Rudolf Mutz, General Director, MBG (Wiener Messe Besitz GmbH), the firm charged by the City of Vienna with coordinating construction of the Messe Wien
Diese Ausstellung wurde ermöglicht mit der großzügigen Unterstützung von:
