Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Contemporary Directions
Austria is known for its historic masterpieces, but recent years have also brought interest-
ing new designs, some of these incorporating or complementing existing historic architec-
ture. While many of these are office buildings in the large cities, some are museums or
locations for events. Schloss Grafenegg near the Danube Valley in the lush, rolling hills of
Lower Austria is a fine instance of a postmodern concert location. Here a Renaissance
palace was set on the shores of a lake but rebuilt from the 1840s in its current neoclassical
form. The castle and grounds have long been a venue for classical-music events, but in
2007 they were given a new component: a 15m open-air stage called the Wolkenturm
(Cloud Tower), designed by Viennese architects nextENTERprise. Set in a cleft in mani-
cured parkland, this shiny, jagged and sculpture-like stage is a natural amphitheatre and
takes on the hue of the surrounding parkland.
A similar reflection of surroundings is incorporated into the postmodern Loisium Wein-
welt in Langenlois. This brings together a modern, upmarket hotel complex, the world of
wine, and tours through historic cellars with an aluminium cube designed by New York ar-
chitect Steven Holl. Meanwhile, further along the Danube River in Linz, the capital of Up-
per Austria, the Lentos Kunstmuseum is a cubic, postmodern construction with a glass
facade that also reflects its surroundings.
'People love everything that fulfils the desire for comfort. They hate everything that wishes to draw them
out of the secure position they have earned. People therefore love houses and hate art.' Adolf Loos
States of Flux
This idea of the modern building reflecting or absorbing the tones of its environment con-
trasts with another approach in modern Austrian architecture: a building that is in a state
of flux. Also in Linz, the postmodern Ars Electronica Center received an addition along-
side its original modern building in 2007. The added dimension of an LED facade en-
closes both buildings and lights up and changes colour at night. Another example of this
style is the Kunsthaus in Graz, which quickly became a new trademark of Styria's capital.
Situated alongside the Mur River, this slug-like construction - the work of British archi-
tects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier - has an exterior that changes colour through illumin-
ation. The building's modernity seeks to create an 'aesthetic dialogue' with the historic
side of Graz rising up on a bluff on the other side of the river. This dialogue is literally
