Kunsthaus Graz
Biomorphic blue exhibition hall on the Mur, built for the 2003 Capital of Culture year.
The Kunsthaus Graz was built for the city's year as European Capital of Culture in 2003 to a competition-winning design by the British architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier. Its rounded, bulging body of blue acrylic panels sits directly beside the river Mur in the Lend district and abuts the cast-iron Eiserne Haus of 1848, which was restored and incorporated into the complex. Locals quickly nicknamed the building the Friendly Alien.
The skin carries the BIX facade, a grid of around 930 fluorescent rings developed by realities:united that can be driven as a low-resolution display. Sixteen roof nozzles, known as nozzles or snouts, draw daylight into the upper exhibition level, while a gently sloping travelator links the two column-free galleries. The house holds no permanent collection and instead runs a changing programme of contemporary art as part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum.
Highlights
- Blue acrylic Friendly Alien shell by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier
- BIX media facade of around 930 controllable fluorescent rings
- Sixteen roof nozzles bringing north light into Space01
- Restored 1848 cast-iron Eisernes Haus built into the complex
