Presentation
a_show. The Book
Austrian Architecture in the 20th and 21st Century
a_show. The Book
© Walking Chair
A panel discussion with leading architecture theorists, architecture historians and exhibition-makers, at the presentation of the eagerly anticipated catalogue to the permanent exhibition, on the various forms and perspectives of ‘writing history’ poses the simple but fundamental question: What is Austrian architecture?
Greeting
Hannes Pflaum
Presentation
Gabriele Kaiser
Monika Platzer
Panel
Friedrich Achleitner
Volker Dienst
Hans Hollein (angefragt)
Lilli Hollein
Gustav Peichl
Dietmar Steiner
Jan Tabor
Moderation: Wolfgang Jean Stock
The book Architecture in Austria in the 20th and 21st Centuries provides a tour through the historic and contemporary production of architecture in Austria on the basis of ten episodes each dedicated to a different topic (Prologue, Red Vienna, Landscape, Power, Postwar Reconstruction, International, System, Utopia, Collage, The Present), as well as devoting a special narrative thread to the topic of Housing. The aim of the book is not to focus on individual buildings but to provide a comprehensive representation of architecture in all of its cultural, technical and social complexity.
The book is based on the systematic amassing of documentary material in what is in principle an unending archive on Austrian architecture. While the chronological succession of particular phases in the development of architecture remains clear as a main narrative thread, the book also aims to provide more in-depth looks at, and to arouse curiosity about, specific themes not generally addressed by mainstream historical representations. The issue of continuity and divergences in Austrian architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries provides the leitmotif in terms of content throughout all of the temporal layers and allows enough leeway for a variety of readings.
Approx. 400 pages and 1,000 illustrations. Paperback. Birkhäuser – Verlag für Architektur, 2006.
