Mar 23–May 28, 2023

Grazer Schule

Style & Value of a Phenomenon
Address
Mariahilferstrasse 2, Graz 8020
Hours
Tue–Sun 10 am–6 pm

Impressive cubatures, multi-faceted façades or refined details - the works of the "Grazer Schule (Graz School)" is still shaping the image of the city today. Nevertheless, many of these buildings are threatened with demolition. In the exhibition "Grazer Schule. Style & Value of a Phenomenon", students of the Institute for Architectural Theory, Art and Cultural Studies (akk) at Graz University of Technology dedicate themselves to this important architectural heritage.

The „new architecture“ of the years between 1950 and 2000, from post-war modernism to the turn of the millennium, represents a particularly formative era in Graz and Styria. Among the best-known buildings of this period are those of the so-called "Grazer Schule". In cooperation with students from the Institute for Architectural Theory, Art and Cultural Studies at Graz University of Technology, selected examples of post-war architecture in Graz and their history of development will be presented.

Many of these buildings do not meet current energy standards and are currently in a poor state of preservation or have been extremely altered in their appearance through conversion. The exhibition and accompanying event want to stimulate a discourse on how to deal with buildings from this era. When is a building worth preserving? How important is the preservation of these projects as a "figurehead" for the internationally renowned "Grazer Schule" in Styria? How can these buildings be energetically upgraded and put to new use?

Nine selected projects are on display. In addition to the already destroyed Haus Fuchs (Heinz Wondra) or the WIFI Werkstättenbau (Christine & Walther Kordon), which is about to be demolished, these include the Wienerstraße student residence (Klaus Kada), the Institute for Biochemistry & Biotechnology (Michael Szyszkowitz & Karla Kowalski), the Rettenbach housing estate (Bernhard Hafner), Haus Rosegger (Konrad Frey), the Mathematics & Geodesy extension (Günther Domenig & Hermann Eisenköck), the Carl-Spitzweg-Gasse housing estate (Volker Giencke) and the Raiffeisenkasse Andritz (Team A). The projects will be shown and illustrated by plans, photos and models.

The presentation of the projects was developed by students of architecture at Graz University of Technology as part of a seminar led by DI Margareth Otti-Wagner. The exhibition is based on the publication "SOS Grazer Schule", produced in 2021 at the Institute for Architecture and Art and Cultural Studies (akk) at Graz University of Technology under the direction of Anselm Wagner.