Page - 7 - in Demolished Modified Endangered - Modelling Austrian Architecture Of The 20th Century

others are by previously known, but now almost forgotten architects like the Atelier Singer Dicker or Bernard Rudofsky. For a number of the projects, like the Bellevue restaurant by Traude and Wolfgang Windbrechtinger or the Villa Auspitz by Helmut Camillo Wagner-Freynsheim, only sparse documentation was available. The models for these projects were reconstructed only with the help of existing photographs. While this posed a challenge when making the models, it also allowed us to work on the designs more freely and creatively. Projects like the Mega Bridge IV by Raimund Abraham, The Elements of the Vertical City by Friedrich St. Florian or the Halle im Haupthaus Heriot by Atelier Singer Dicker, have never been realised in the form of an architectural model before, and the models were therefore built based only on drawings and collages. A few iconic buildings have already been demolished, such as the Haus Albrecher-Leskoschek by Herbert Eichholzer or the Dampferanlegestelle by Eugen Wachberger, while others were designed with the purpose of being temporary, such as the Fremdenverkehrspavillon by Ernst Lichtblau or the Austrian pavilion at the world fair in Paris by Oswald Haerdtl. Some projects, like the Haus Mühlbauer by Ernst Plischke or the Hotel Intercontinental by Holabird & Root and Carl Appel for example, are facing the danger of being demolished. The process of making the models allowed us to gain a more in depth understanding of each individual project. The act of translating two dimensional information into a three dimensional object is, in itself, an undeniably useful architectural exercise. We asked ourselves, is architecture only defined as architecture when it is built? How can we reliably and authentically convey a space that no longer exists in its original form? And can these models facilitate an understanding of space that can be used in a design process and in the creation of new spaces? While architects involved in the process of the digitisation of architectural design are relentless in their efforts to develop programs that simulate the experience of three dimensional space, the hand drawn sketch, as well as the physical, material model, persist as an integral part of the design process. Whether they are made by hand, or using new technologies such as laser printing, CNC or 3D printing, most architectural models aim to describe or represent an existing building by making a scaled down replica of it. In contrast, this publication focuses instead on working models, or models that describe a concept, and models that invariably contribute to the process of realising a project. These models aim to convey more than the immediately visible elements of a space. This book aims to show how a variety of sometimes unexpected materials can be used to create models that highlight the core design principles and concepts of the building. The Publication was produced by the Institute of Construction and Design Principles (KOEN) at the Faculty of Architecture of the Graz University of Technology and was supported by the Land Steiermark, Department 8 and 9. Petra Petersson / Wolfgang List