A Spectacle of Everyday Life

architects Spacelab / Cook-Fournier
project Kunsthaus, Graz, Austria
written by Silva Kalčić

 

As the design of Selfridges department store in Birmingham by authors from Future Systems was inspired by Paco Rabanne’s dress-designs from the 1960’s, which was coated with metal discs, so the zoomorphic structure of the  Kunsthaus – Friendly alien museum in Graz, inaugurated last September, recalls the image of Melville’s whale. Its aerodynamic silhouette recalls a Zeppelin landing dramatically upon the west side of the Mura River (stretching parallel along the river) into the heart of a traditionally working class and blue-collar neighborhood. The location was so controversial that a public referendum had to be held.