Application Graz. UNESCO Graz City of Design UNESCO City of Design Application Index Index Foreword / 04 Literature from Graz / 47 Interview with mayor Siegfried Nagl and Christian Buchmann, Architecture in Graz / 48 holder of the business, innovation and finance portfolio / 06 Haus der Architektur (“House of Architecture”) / 49 Camera Austria / 49 Jazz – with an academic blessing / 50 01 Art and the public / 51 Graz as “City of Design” Graz 2003 – Cultural Capital of Europe / 52 “Serial innovation” / 10 Key project “City of Design” / 10 05 En route to the knowledge-based society / 10 Education and training Creativity – as we see it / 1 1 Joanneum UAS / 54 Industrial design / 55 02 Exhibition and museum design / 55 The city of Graz Information design / 56 Graz University of Music and Performing Arts / 57 In figures/ 12 Graz Technical University / 57 Population, employment, economy / 13 Karl Franzens University / 58 Analysis of potential / 15 Medical University / 59 Business and design / 17 Campus 02 – the business UAS / 59 Competence centres, clusters and networks / 18 HTBLVA Graz Ortwein School / 60 Creative Industries Styria / 22 Styrian Vocational School (LBS Graz 7) / 60 Key businesses and global players / 23 Vocational training / 60 Tourism / 24 UNESCO World Heritage Site / 25 Graz – art and culture / 26 06 Culture for children / 28 Outlook for the future Lifestyle and savoir vivre / 28 Cultural diversity, integration and human rights / 29 Graz as a member of the Creative Cities network/ 62 The Reininghaus project / 64 Current architecture / 65 03 Infrastructure / 66 Design in Graz Design and public space / 66 Design in all areas of life / 66 Events and festivals / 35 Active design networking / 67 assembly / 35 BETA Young Creative Lab / 68 Design Month / 36 Designers in Residence / 69 Film, theatre, jazz and all that / 38 FashionLab / 69 Design in figures / 40 Design Forum Styria / 70 Educational co-operation / 71 04 Milestones – from the 1960s 07 to European Capital of Culture, 2003 Graz with links Forum Stadtpark / 44 Service / 72 steirischer herbst / 46 Foreword Page 4 Application Foreword Page 5 Graz. UNESCO City of Design Foreword Graz – who would have guessed? was the slogan with The present application documentation provides as com- which Graz competed for one of the biggest projects in the prehensive and complete a picture of the city of Graz as city’s 850-year history – the right to host the European possible. It is a picture that is not limited to the strengths Capital of Culture event for 2003. It was a major project, of the city as a tourist venue. It is an image that also aims and a thoroughly successful one. In 2003, Graz acquired to bring out things lying beneath the surface; and not least an international stage on which the benefits and charac- an image that conveys the dynamism and go-getting mo- teristics of the city could be put across clearly. Like any mentum of the city in general and the creative scene in city of comparable size, Graz is not of course a homoge- particular. neous entity but the sum of widely differing parts. It’s just This application goes back to an idea and initiative of the same with the 290,000 or so people who live and work Graz architect Marion Wicher and advertising entrepre- in Graz. Not all of them are local Grazers. Many of them neur Heimo Lercher. Graz’s application for City of Design come from neighbouring countries of former Yugoslavia, status enjoys widespread support from the creative scene from Kosovo, Turkey, Hungary, Russia, Germany and ma- and the relevant municipal and state politicians and of- ny other countries of the world. These days, around 160 na- ficials. When the application documents were being draft- tions from round the globe are represented in Graz. What ed, conversations with representatives from politics were links them all is the conscious decision to live in Graz and as much on the agenda as numerous detailed discussions the practical opportunities the city offers. with those directly involved in Graz’s creative economy. That requires certain qualities and facilities that a city A special format was worked out – “think tank conversa- can offer its (new) inhabitants. “Openness”, “friendliness”, tions”, the point of which is - and will remain in future – “good training institutions”, “a good cultural climate” are to keep people informed about the project and to filter out some of the keywords you hear if you tune in to what peo- what the creative scene expects of the application. Over ple say. They allude directly to the strengths of this city: 100 representatives actively took up the opportunity for a personal relationships, small units, good networking – in frank discussion – their remarks, suggestions and points short, qualities that reflect in Graz what the creative econ- of criticism provided essential markers for compiling the omy demands all around the globe: personal relationships, application documentation. The lively participation how- small units, good networking. ever shows one thing above all: Graz’s creative economy is Graz is a city of resources, a design city “avant la lettre”. wholeheartedly behind the project and is ready to support Design plays a part in the city that the city itself is not and make a substantial contribution to the great City of yet fully aware of – the relevant institutions are too recent. Design project. We are most grateful to everyone involved. They include the Joanneum UAS, whose courses in in- dustrial design and information design plus consolidation courses in museum design and media & interaction design Eberhard Schrempf, provide training at the highest international level. But Application Manager and CEO of design is something that takes many forms in Graz: Creative Industries Styria GmbH not just the occasionally spectacular architectural struc- tures of recent years and decades, but the universally perceptible desire to fashion things and the energy to make the city even more attractive to live in. Siegfried Nagl Christian Buchmann Interview Page 7 Graz. UNESCO Mayor of Graz Styrian government’s holder City of Design of the business, innovation and finance portfolio Graz applies for “City of Design” Graz mayor Siegfried Nagl and Christian Buchmann, the Styrian government’s holder of the business, innovation and finance portfolio, on Graz, its opportunities and its potential. Mr Mayor, Mr Buchmann, why should Graz become a City of Design? Siegfried Nagl: Graz meets the conditions. The city has a young, vital creative scene whose achievements have be- come increasingly firmly anchored in public awareness ... Christian Buchmann: … and in Graz and Styria the ambient conditions are also right. The Styrian government has de- fined the creative economy as one of our strengths, so as to provide official support for the creative scene. That’s after all also one of the chief reasons why Creative Industries Styria GmbH was set up – to channel that creative energy and make it more visible to outsiders. With regard to visibility, Graz reached a wide public with the Cultural Capital year. Can that experience be used now for the City of Design project? Buchmann: Absolutely. And not just on an administrative and operative level but also in terms of substance. Graz 2003 helped to make people open-minded, and to generate a receptive cultural climate in the city and Styria generally. Interview Page 8 Application Interview Page 9 Graz. UNESCO City of Design Nagl: Though we should add that this receptive climate generally are capable of. Even in a nationwide compar- has always been a feature of the city. Institutions such ison, Styria again comes out well. When the Austrian as the steirischer herbst festival, Forum Stadtpark and “competence centres” were allocated, Styria did better more recently the Elevate and Spring festivals show that than any other federal state. With a total of seven clus- a lot can be done in Graz that would be more difficult ters and networks, Styria has a very solid basis for de- elsewhere. Put ting ideas into practice is definitely one of veloping existing expertise still further. That applies to Graz’s strengths. industrial high-tech businesses as much as to the tradi- tional small and medium-sized companies in industrial Ideas put into practice are called innovations. Is the Graz con- arts and crafts or local supply. urbation fertile soil for innovative ideas? What are your wishes for the future of Graz and the Graz conur- Buchmann: Yes. We are definitely a region of innovators. bation? The outstanding achievements of the Graz area in research and development and the innovative enterprise our com- Nagl: Wishes are not the concern of politics. Our job is to panies display bear that out. In fact, our whole econom- shape living and working conditions to ensure the maxi- ic strategy is predicated on it. We have to stimulate the mum possible personal development. Achieving that is the creativity of companies – having ideas on paper is nice, but objective we set ourselves. Of course, if you had asked me only in the market do they really amount to anything. twenty years ago, I might perhaps have said, it would be nice if we could further consolidate the practical diversity What do creative minds from all disciplines find when they come of life and co-existence in our city. to Graz? … and today Graz is both a “City of Human Rights” and a Nagl: In the first place, outstanding educational institu- UNESCO World Heritage site … tions. Graz has four universities and two colleges of ap- plied science, whose fame extends far beyond the city Nagl: Yes. Things are heading in the right direction. City of boundaries. In addition, they find an urban environment Design status is an important step for Graz in an ongoing with a high feel-good factor.