Günther Domenig (6 July 1934 – 15 June 2012) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. Domenig was born in Klagenfurt, and studied architecture at the

Graz University of Technology Graz University of Technology (, short TU Graz) is a public research university located in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research and educational institute in Austria. ...

(1953–1959). After working as an architectural assistant, he set up in practice with Eilfried Huth (1963–1973), producing buildings in a

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

vein. They designed buildings with

exposed concrete Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website * '' Exeposé'', a student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter Film and TV ...

that are among the outstanding examples of brutalism in Austria. Both the ''Pedagogical Academy Graz'' and the ''Oberwart Parish Church'' were commissioned by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Another much-noticed design from this phase is the visionary and unbuildable ''Stadt Ragnitz'' project. Here, Huth and Domenig designed a

megastructure A megastructure (or macrostructure) is a very large artificial object, although the limits of precisely how large vary considerably. Some apply the term to any especially large or tall building. Some sources define a megastructure as an enorm ...

that is similar to the projects of the so-called Metabolists and

Archigram Archigram was an avant-garde British architectural group whose unbuilt projects and media-savvy provocations "spawned the most influential architectural movement of the 1960's," according to Princeton Architectural Press study ''Archigram'' (19 ...

's projects. At the beginning of the 1970s, Huth and Domenig increasingly designed pop-art-architecture. Their temporary buildings for the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Munich were colorful and had the rounded corners and playful geometries typical of pop art. The multi-purpose hall of the ''Institute of the Sisters of St. Francis in Graz'' is reminiscent of a

tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

shell and thus is

organic architecture Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches that aim to be sympathetic and well-integrated with a site, so buildings, furn ...

. Domenig's first internationally acclaimed completed work was the Z-bank in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, which signalled a much more

expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

, counter-modernist aesthetic. He is also known for his own concrete home, the ''Steinhaus'' at

Lake Ossiach Lake Ossiach (, ) is a lake in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is the state's third largest lake after Lake Wörth () and Lake Millstatt (). Geography Lake Ossiach is located in the southern Nock Mountains range of the Gurktal Alps along t ...

, on which he worked for more than 30 years. Since 2003, Günther Domenig has worked primarily with Gerhard Wallner. They founded the company ''Domenig & Wallner ZT GmbH''. In addition to his practice, Domenig became a professor at the Graz University of Technology in 1980. He died at the age of 77 in Graz.

Main works

Together with Eilfried Huth

* 1963–68: Pedagogic Academy,

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

* 1965–69: Parish centre,

Oberwart Oberwart (; ; ) is a town in Burgenland in southeast Austria on the banks of the Pinka River, and the capital of the district of the Oberwart (district), same name. With almost 8,000 inhabitants it’s the third largest town in Burgenland, after E ...

* 1967: Temporary pavilion for the ''Trigon 67'' art exhibition, Graz * 1970–72: Temporary pavilion for olympic swimming pool,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

* 1970–73: Temporary restaurant for the

, Munich * 1973–77: Multi-purpose school hall, Graz

As independent architect

* 1974–79: Zentralsparkasse bank,

* 1980–2008: Single family home ''Steinhaus'', Steindorf * 1983–84: Faculty buildings Lessingstraße, Steyrergasse,

Technical University Graz Graz University of Technology (, short TU Graz) is a public research university located in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research and educational institute in Austria. ...

* 1987: Funder Factory (Funder Werk II), St. Veit * 1990s: Zentralsparkasse building, modernization and new facade, Vienna * 1992–93: Mursteg bridge, Graz * 1993–94: ''Center am Kai'' office block, Graz * 1993–95: ''GIG'', Office building and manufacturing halls,

Völkermarkt Völkermarkt (; ) is a town of about 11,000 inhabitants in the Austrian state of Carinthia, the administrative capital of Völkermarkt District. It is located within the Drava valley east of the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt, north of the Karaw ...

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

* 1993–96: RESOWI-Zentrum (university building), Karl Franzens Universität, Graz * 1994–96: Elementary school Simonsgasse, Rosenbergstrasse, Wien-Essling * 1998–2000: Academy of the Arts,

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

* 1998–2001: Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds,

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

* 1999–2000: ''Hotel Augarten'' Schönaugasse, Graz * 2002–04:

T-Center The T-Center is an office building in the Sankt Marx section of Landstraße, the 3rd district of Vienna. It was built between the years 2002 and 2004 following the designs of Austrian architect Günther Domenig. History The beginning of c ...

(headquarters building), Vienna (with Hermann Eisenköck, Herfried Peyker)

Decorations and awards

* 1967: Austrian builders award for Catholic Educational Academy in Graz (with Eilfried Huth) * 1969: Grand Prix International d'Architecture et d'Urbanisme Cannes (with Eilfried Huth) * 1975: Prix Europeen de la Construction Metallique * 1981: Austrian builders prize for the Z-branch Favoriten in Vienna * 1989: Austrian builders prize for the power plant in Frombork Unzmarkt * 1995: Austrian builders award for the National Exhibition Carinthia: Grubenhunt und Ofensau * 1995: Golden Medal of Honour of Vienna * 1996: Award of Carinthia * 1997: Austrian builders award for RESOWI centre in Graz * 1998: Austrian builders award for the refurbishment of the City Theatre in Klagenfurt * 2004: Grand Austrian State Prize for Architecture * 2004:

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

* 2006: Austrian State Prize for Architecture and Austrian builders prize for the T-Center St. Marx

Notes

References

* *

External links

Official website

In memory of Günther Domenig (1934-2012)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Domenig, Gunther Architects from Klagenfurt 1934 births 2012 deaths Recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Recipients of the Austrian State Prize Graz University of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Graz University of Technology