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

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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 Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, and studied architecture at the

Graz University of Technology Graz University of Technology (german: link=no, Technische Universität Graz, short ''TU Graz'') is one of five universities in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research ...

(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 Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

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 Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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

megastructure A megastructure 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 enormous self-supporting a ...

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

Archigram Archigram was an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s ⁠that was neofuturistic, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology in order to create a new reality that was solely expressed through hypothetical ...

'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 commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

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: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

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, furni ...

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

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 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 rad ...

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

Lake Ossiach Lake Ossiach (german: Ossiacher See, sl, Osojsko jezero) is a lake in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is the state's third largest lake, superseded only by Lake Wörth and Lake Millstatt. Geography It is situated in the southern Nock Moun ...

, 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 (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

* 1965–69: Parish centre,

Oberwart Oberwart (; hu, Felsőőr; hr, Gornja Borta) is a town in Burgenland in southeast Austria on the banks of the Pinka River, and the capital of the district of the same name. Oberwart is the cultural capital of the small ethnic Hungarian minority ...

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

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

* 1970–73: Temporary restaurant for the

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

As independent architect

* 1974–79:

Zentralsparkasse UniCredit Bank Austria AG, branded and widely referred to as Bank Austria, is an Austrian bank, 96.35% owned by Milan-based UniCredit. It was formed in 1991 by merger of Vienna's Länderbank and Zentralsparkasse, acquired Creditanstalt-Bankvere ...

bank,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

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

Technical University Graz Graz University of Technology (german: link=no, Technische Universität Graz, short ''TU Graz'') is one of five universities in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research ...

* 1987: Funder Factory (Funder Werk II),

St. Veit Sankt Veit is the German name for Saint Vitus in place names (cf. wiktionary:Sankt). Places named Sankt Veit in Austria include: * Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia ** Sankt Veit an der Glan (district), Carinthia * Sankt Veit an der Gölsen, Low ...

* 1990s:

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 (; sl, Velikovec) 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 ...

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

* 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 (; nds, Mönster) is an 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 state distr ...

* 1998–2001:

Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds The Documentation Center Nazi Party Rallying Grounds (German language, German: Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände) is a museum in Nuremberg. It is in the north wing of the unfinished remains of the Nazi_party_rally_grounds#Congress_ ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

* 1999–2000: ''Hotel Augarten'' Schönaugasse, Graz * 2002–04: T-Center (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

* 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 (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

* 2006:

Austrian State Prize The Austrian State Prize is an award given annually or biennially in various artistic fields for excellence by younger and middle-aged artists. The State Prize is currently (2012) worth €8,000. The categories are: : Fine arts (first award in 19 ...

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