Indulgent architecture

We had not intended to visit Austria, but are we glad we did.

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It was not on our bucket list, as we had both been here before, together and separately.

We had both been to Vienna when we were much younger, and neither of us were impressed. We have also been to the Austrian alps a couple of times langlauffing and skiing, when we got to see Innsbruck. We thought we had it all worked out, a little circumnavigation via Slovakia and Slovenia, but no we had to go through Austria.

But we had had to change our plans. We hadn’t realised that we would either retrace our steps back through Hungary, or slip down the eastern edge of Austria into Slovenia. We still didn’t want to bother with Vienna though, but thought Graz sounded interesting, and there was a couple of buildings that I wanted to visit.

So we leave Bratislava and Slovakia, which we really enjoyed,

crossing the Danube for probably the last time on this trip, it has come a long way with us.

There are quite a few modern buildings now in Bratislava, some are really interesting and the building quality looks really good, perhaps this is because it is so close to Western Europe and companies are investing heavily here. It is so well located with the border literally on the doorstep, and Vienna just 50 km away, quite liked the simplicity of this one in the suburbs, no fuss.

The border with Austria is very close and as soon as we crossed we started to see these, vast forests of them. Rotating gently in just a slight breeze, producing clean, green electricity. Something that every NIMBY (not in my back yard) in the UK wants to stop, and it seems our politicians have now put the brakes on. Sometimes you wonder whether the UK is in the dark ages.

As far as the eye could see, and more of them being constructed as we passed. Back in the UK, maybe even in Spain, would we see Austria as conservative? Not as backward looking as Blighty though, always wanting to recreate a fictitious past. The Austrian are putting up swathes of these amongst the agricultural fields, and why not, tractors can plough round them. Spoil the landscape my arse…

So we headed southwest, around Vienna, through large fields of crops, no mules here, no-one doing anything by hand, just large tractors. Agriculture on a vast, mechanised scale. Bulgaria is already a lifetime away.

And the landscape is really beautiful, and it is good again to see some hills, and to drive through the coolness of them.

We are also back into a proper aire (motorhome designated areas) country, but there are none that are really convenient around here. We pass a couple of ideal spots, but neither of us can really decide, so eventually we stop here.

It will hopefully not be too noisy. We go to check out the information kiosk which looks pretty much abandoned. I go to look at a pamphlet and presumably disturb an angry wasp, who manages to sting me twice on the hand before I can make a hasty retreat, little bugger!

After a pretty peaceful night we proceed on towards Graz. We find a spot to park Dora and wander into town.

Graz is Austria’s second largest city, but seems somewhat eclipsed by Innsbruck and Salzburg.

We first head down towards the river.

The river is really quite lively and we certainly wouldn’t want to take the kayaks down some of these rapids!

And there are some nice contemporary buildings here. You get the feeling this is a really traditional and conservative place, but they are quite happy living in the modern world.

But this is what I have come to see. This is the Kunsthaus Graz, and is an art gallery right next to the river.

The architects are British, Peter Cook and Colin Fournier.

And they named the building, the friendly alien. I find really ironic when I read that in a small book we purchased;

‘Its extraordinary shape blends in perfectly with the existing buildings, showing a sensitive respect for the surrounding historic architecture.’

Blends in!

Shows respect?

I don’t think it does either of these things, but then I also think it shouldn’t.

I don’t think the architects wanted this to blend in, to show respect, if they did why call it an alien.

This building confront the adjacent historic landscape, challenges it, dominates it, not with scale, but with form and with technology.

But I think this is an incredibly indulgent building and at first I was really unsure whether I really liked it or not. We were even debating whether or not to invest the €9 each to go in.

We did.

Both of the architects are academics and are professors at University College London and therefore their built works are fairly limited, this is especially true of Peter Cook, who is internationally famous for his work with Archigram and conceptual work such as the ‘Plug-in City’ and ‘Instant City’ for which he was eventually to win, together with Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, David Greene Michael Webb and Dennis Crompton, the highest accolade of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Gold Medal.

I wasn’t and still not sure whether I like it. The two distinct external shapes shock me: a linear corridor with round corners glued on the top right hand side of a giant ellipse. The scale of it disturbs the surrounding areas, it is incredibly arrogant. SM

Now, the first thing to say about this building, is it has pushed glass technology to the limit of what is achievable. Each of these panes of glass is of a different size, is curved in two directions, is heat strengthened and has numerous holes cut into it for various fixing points.

More than the technicality of it, I am interested in the cost; has the investment been paid back? What proportion of private funds has contributed to the construction? Is the gallery generating enough revenue to cover the running costs? SM

And from a distance, all is well.

But when you are up close, the result is very disappointing.

The alignment of the glass, the consistency of the gaps, and the curvature of the building is just a a little bit off, a bit wonky.

The little plastic cones help to retain the snow in winter, preventing it slipping off in one dramatic lump. There are also a series of fire sprinklers, but why you would want to drench the outside of this building remains a mystery to me.

Suffice it to say this is an incredibly complex building to manufacture, and therefore incredibly expensive, something only the public purse could ever pay for!

So €18 the lighter, plus another €5 for the book, we head inside.

They talk a lot about the biomorphic shape of this building, how the ‘bubble flows …making best perfect use of the available space..’

It does, but this perfect use of available space, is it the best space to display art?

Many galleries spaces have become art in their own right, many competing with the pieces on display. Some handle this better than others, Tate modern and the Centre Pompidou really seem to respect what is on display, and in so doing do not compete.

I am not sure you can say the same for this.

But fundamentally I suppose, it comes down to whether you consider the building beautiful.

It seems to work adequately well as gallery and has raised the profile of Graz, especially when it was European Capital of Culture.

Undoubtedly, having a gallery designed by a distinct architecture contributes to attract visitors. Think of Bilbao. The city became world-wide known because of the Guggenheim. SM

The building also seems to be popular and serving its wider civic role, the cafe was packed and children were undertaking some artistic endeavours in the courtyard.

But those biomorphic shapes, create a lot of uncomfortable spaces, awkward to use! And the contention is whether a rational warehouse could still be as beautiful, or raise awareness for the city in the same way.

Well it did for Paris, but time moves on, so perhaps we now need biomorphic shapes.

But it is the simpler parts of the building, still well detailed and elegant,

But then in gets a bit difficult, a bit mad.

And perhaps that is the problem, is this building just trying a bit too hard.

And there is a bit of this building I really don’t like.

They refer to it as the needle. It sits atop the building, the only vaguely rectilinear form, like some modernist cancer.

It is a viewing gallery, and gives excellent vistas over the city.

But it also declares the inadequacies of the cladding.

They threw everything at this building. Lights below the glass create a vast media wall,

sound artists create noises every hour, and other artists embellished adjacent buildings.

Don’t get me wrong, I do actually like this building. I trust the people of Graz also like it, they paid for it, and at €40m for a 6000 sqm building, €6500 per square metre seems quite a lot.

There are other buildings to see in Graz, maybe ‘The Friendly Alien’ has inspired others to be a bit more adventurous.

And this bridge/ cafe/ bar sits in the middle of the river, fortunately in a quiet spot.

Quite a lot of fun, the mesh gives a lovely transparency.

Not sure of the environment within the bar, more like a greenhouse.

All beautifully detailed.

And it gets you close to the river.

Where at times it really appears submerged, grabbing flotsam as it floats down the river.

We take a walk back through the city centre.

Taking in all that cafe culture.

And then head upwards.

In a small funicular

To get a better view of the city.

And to experience the blending in of ‘the Friendly Alien’.

Absolutely seamless!

Just like this one, snazzy facade though.

And this one, I have never seen an uglier, more disproportioned clock than this one. They seem quite proud of it though.

The quaint uniformity of the old.

At least here they had the courage to challenge it, to confront the old with the modern.

What’s wrong with contrast, it doesn’t ‘fit in’, that’s no bad thing, just don’t talk bollocks about how it does!

GDR