Architecture in Linz 1900–2011

~ SpringerWienNewYork Architecture in Linz 1900–2011 EDITED BY Andrea Bina and Lorenz Potocnik AUTHORS Andrea Bina (ab) Theresia Hauenfels (th) Elke Krasny (ek) Isabella Marboe (im) Lorenz Potocnik (lp) PHOTOGRAPHY Gregor Graf ESSAYS BY Peter Arlt Ulrich Aspetsberger Martin Fritz Bernhard Gilli Michael John Walter Kohl Erhard Kargel Elke Krasny Wilfried Lipp Thomas Philipp Wilfried Posch Lorenz Potocnik Gerhard Ritschel Bernd Vlay Christoph Wiesmayr SpringerWienNewYork Andrea Bina, Lorenz Potocnik, Linz, Austria This publication is a follow-up project of Linz09 and was financed by the Federal Ministry for Education, Art, and Culture, the City of Linz, and the Province of Upper Austria / Cultural Department. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machines or similar means, and storage in databanks. Product Liability: The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. ©2012 Springer-Verlag/Wien SpringerWienNewYork is a part of Springer Science + Business Media springer.at Graphic design: Alexander Ach Schuh & Martina Fuchs Photography: Gregor Graf Concept & Project Management: Lorenz Potocnik Editorial office: Hannah Bruckmüller, Lorenz Potocnik Copy Editing: Andrea Nussbaum; Proofreading: Renée Gadsden; Translation: Chickadee Translation Printed on acid-free and chlorine-free bleached paper SPIN 80063347 With 241 coloured figures Library of Congress Control Number: 2011932694 ISBN 978-3-7091-0831-4 SpringerWienNewYork Contents 1900–1909 16 1910–1919 35 1920–1929 55 1930–1939 91 1940–1949 111 1950–1959 124 1960–1969 138 1970–1979 159 1980–1989 196 1990–1999 217 2000–2009 226 2010–2011 286 Index 302 Bibliography 310 Biographies 318 6 Andrea Bina 215 Buildings Lorenz Potocnik in Linz since 1900 8 Walter Kohl About the Disappeared 11 Wilfried Posch Curt Kühne, Director of Urban Planning, Architect, and City Planner 77 Michael John Repression. Reconciliation. Removal? On the Past of the “Führer City Linz” 113 Lorenz Potocnik Ugly Ducklings 139 Erhard Kargel Bridging the Danube 166 Wilfried Lipp Explosives 171 Thomas Philipp It’s Dusty in the Sahara Too… 178 Peter Arlt Getting Involved in the City 202 Gerhard Ritschel Friends of the Linz Music Theater: The Drive for an Opera House in Linz 208 Martin Fritz A Hub of Daily Activity: The solarCity as a Suburban Center 238 Ulrich Aspetsberger The City and “Voest” 250 Elke Krasny Bellevue. Above the Tunnel a Paradise. Under the Park a Bunker. 261 Christoph Wiesmayr Plenty of New Development in the East 291 Bernhard Gilli Bernd Vlay A Factory is Not a Factory: An Essay on a Promise 297 Contents 7 Andrea Bina, Lorenz Potocnik 215 Buildings in Linz since 1900 Linz is in transition, more so than any other city in Austria. Very rural up into the 20th century, it was socialistically realigned in the interwar period (seen in the buildings of the “Red Linz” socialist administration), named a Führerstadt by the Nazi regime, influenced industrially during the economic boom, and, most recently, selected to be the European Culture Capital. The superb architecture that took shape throughout these changes has received relatively little attention and not much has been published on it. The need for a compre- hensive architectural guide to remedy this deficit is therefore uncontested. Another impulse driving this book was a long-term personal desire to provide Linz with the overview of its post-1900 buildings it so urgently needed. The main challenge was to find the right way in which to illustrate the development of the city, to portray the changes in its self-perception, as well as its outward image. A built moment in time, architecture seems particularly suited to telling the story of these developments, phenomena, and the day-to-day reality of the city’s changing atmosphere. Before the publication of this book, it was very difficult to arrive at an under- stand ing of the above-mentioned correlations in local architecture develop - ment. The Kunsttopographie Linz (the basis for the City of Linz’s electronic heritage registry) and the Dehio publication both deal primarily with historical buildings. The inescapable Volume I (including Upper Austria) of Austrian Architecture in the 20th Century, by Friedrich Achleitner, has long been out of print and, like all the other pre-1980 publications, available only through libraries and antiquarian book dealers. Research often requires intense and 8 laborious detail work. After that – consciously tying in to Achleitner’s research base – many of the newer buildings are covered by the Architektur forum Oberösterreich’s bulletins on “Architecture in Upper Austria 1980–97” and Romana Ring’s book Architektur in Oberösterreich seit 1980 (Architecture in Upper Austria since 1980), published in 2004. Starting in the late 1990s, infor- ma tion on contemporary architecture can be found in architecture databases and on websites like those of nextroom and the afo architekturforum ober - österreich. In the hectic atmosphere and everyday pragmatic concerns of construction projects in Linz, criticism and documentation were in many cases ascribed precious little importance. Many of Linz’s formative buildings and designers have slipped into oblivion, such as Curt Kühne (active in Linz from 1915–48), or the architects working during and after the reconstruction, like Fritz Fanta, Artur Perotti, Johannes Greifeneder, and Eugen Wachberger. Likewise, Fritz Goffitzer, always idiosyncratic, or the outstanding administrative and residen - tial buildings designed by the Werkgruppe Linz, are only known by a very few insiders in the field of architecture. Only internationally commended works or those of national relevance, such as Peter Behrens’ and Alexander Popp’s Tobac co Factory (1935), Kaija and Heikki Siren’s Brucknerhaus (1973), or the St. Theresa Church by Maria and Rudolf Schwarz (1962) receive the full attention they deserve. The collection here consists exclusively of finished buildings and, in addition to exclusive and acclaimed buildings, also includes less well- known structures. These are often simply typical of an era, and thus represen- tative of a certain style or regional characteristic. It is precisely to these more mundane buildings and lesser-known architects that this book is dedicated. Our explicit aim was to give them a permanent place in Linz architectural history, meaning that Architecture in Linz not only closes gaps, but also enters brand-new territory. Gregor Graf, an internationally renowned visual artist from Linz, has created a photo documentation of the buildings. All in color, these images reflect our understanding of architecture as a contextual element. Throughout his citywide photo-research, Gregor Graf maintained a lively exchange with the authors, and information from his field research was incorporated into the book’s content. Andrea Bina, Lorenz Potocnik: 215 Buildings in Linz since 1900 9 215 buildings, built across 111 years, are presented here in chronological order and supplemented by 14 mini-essays on corresponding topics. Often personal and subjective, these short articles range from the emergence of the city’s awareness of its historical heritage, to the story of the successful struggle to build a music theater, to a typological analysis of the solarCity. By addressing these diverse phenomena, they bring the history of Linz into the present, casting an uncommon light on familiar things and revealing aspects unique to the city. The accompanying map helps to identify individual city buildings. Note: the “ß” is a letter of the alphabet that occurs in the German language, but not in English. It is the equivalent of a double “s”. In order to assist the reader with reading the map, and eventually reading the street signs when visiting Linz, throughout the book “-strasse” is written in the German form “-straße”. In our dual roles as publishers and authors, we thank our colleagues Theresia Hauenfels, Elke Krasny, and Isabella Marboe for their rigorous analysis of the structures of each era. Recognition also goes to copy editor Andrea Nussbaum and translator Ada Brant for their competent and careful work. Hannah Bruck müller patiently and enduringly attended to the publication with her editorial and organizational skills. Alexander Schuh and Martina Fuchs can be commended for their elegant and excellent graphic design. Our thanks go out to all of the above for their fine efforts in making this complex project come to life. We would also like to thank Friedrich Achleitner and Gabriele Kaiser for their informed advice on the selection of buildings. Last but not least, many thanks to our proofreader Renée Gadsden for her diligence and efforts to opti- mize this book. We would also like to take this opportunity to mention that this book is a follow-up project of the European Capital of Culture Year Linz09, made possible thanks to generous funding by the City of Linz, the Province of Upper Austria, and the Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture. We hope that this book becomes a valuable companion to all those who want to be part of the urban and architectural development of Linz. Like us, let your self be surprised and inspired by this new way of looking at Linz! 10 Walter Kohl About the Disappeared According to Foucault1, spaces reflect relationships. Something disappears when relationships change. Taking this into account, there was nothing left but to tear down a building like the Linz Wollenmanufaktur (Wool Factory) built by the honorable early industrialist Christian Sint. An “enormous bar - rack-like building”,2 as travel writer from Bremen, Johann Georg Kohl, described it in 1840. It was thrown together on the Spitalwiese in Wörth in 1672, like an out-of-place, colossal Upper Austrian four-sided farm courtyard.

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