Raimund Abraham [UN]BUILT

322 Pages·40.717 MB·English

by  Brigitte Groihofer

.
Abraham
£?Ji
Springer Wien New York
The Austrian architect RAIMUND ABRAHAM, bom in 1933
in Lienz, Tyrol, has been living, working and teaching in the
U.S.A. since 1964-
As an exponent of the Viennese avant-garde of the early sixties
his work was exhibited together with the works of Hans Hollein
and Walter Piohler at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in
1967.
The architectural drawing occupies a central position in the
evolution of Abraham’s work in challenging the predominant notion
of built architecture. Drawing demands an autonomous reality,
a manifestation of his architectural concept. Abraham’ drawings and
projects as well as the built realizations reflect the roots of a
concise architectural theory. The essential notion of “collision”
becomes a dialectical theorem as well as the ontological foundation
of architecture.
“For Abraham, history is an irreversible unfolding, and no culture
worthy of its name can be predicated on historicism or any of its
more surreptitious derivatives. On the other hand, unlike the avant-
garde of the heroic period, he has no use whatsoever for the myth
of progress. For him, as for Van Eyck, there remains only the
unchanging archetypal condition of man, from which a valid culture
of architecture remains to be derived. Abraham distinguishes
himself from the “avant-garde” by virtue of his insistence on an
ontology which antedates Humanism. This ontological approach in
no way pre-supposes a rejection of modern technology just as it
does not depend upon the exclusion of traditional materials.
It seeks instead an articulate delineation of tectonic elements in
which, as in the work of Mies van der Rohe or Carlo Scarpa, old
and new, machine-made parts and hand-crafted materials, co-exist
in an articulate continuum.”
Kenneth Frampton, Reality and Representation in Contemporary Architecture, 1982
■
'
With an introductory essay by NORBERT MILLER, professor of
comparative literature at the Technical University of Berlin,
author of Archaologie des Traumes, Versuch tiber G.B. Piranesi
and editor of Daidalos.
With contributions by
JOHN HEJDUK,
KENNETH FRAMPTON,
P. ADAMS SITNEY,
LEBBEUS WOODS,
\
WIELAND SCHMIED. ...
,Vn; - -
Edited by Brigitte Groihofer.

IUNIBU1LT
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2019 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/unbuiltOOOOabra
Raimund Abraham
lUNlBUILT
With an introductory essay by
NORBERT MILLER
With contributions by
JOHN HEJDUK
KENNETH FRAMPTON
P. ADAMS SITNEY
LEBBEUS WOODS
WIELAND SCHMIED
Edited by Brigitte Groihofer
Springer Wien New York
N6811.5
. A26
Edited by Brigitte Groihofer
Graphic Design: Maria-Anna Friedl
Translation: Maria E. Clay, Camilla Nielsen
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 data banks.
© 1996 Springer-Verlag/Wien
Printed in Slovenia
Reproductions: Nova Grafika, 66250 II. Bistrica
Printing: Tiskama Ljudske pravice, 61104 Ljubljana
Printed on acid-free and chlorine-free bleached paper
With 402 partly colored figures
ISBN 3-211-82671-8 Springer-Verlag Wien New York
TO THE MEMORY
OF MY FATHER
ANTON ABRAHAM
WHO TAUGHT ME
THE VIRTUE OF LABOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the making of my work 1 have received encouragement and crucial support from
friends, peers and institutions. I give my thanks and express my gratitude:
To my friend John Hejduk, Architect and Dean of the Irwin S. Chanin School of
Architecture. His continuous and unequivocal support during my tenure at Cooper
Union made this book possible.
To the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and to its
presidents John F. White, Bill N. Lacy and Jay Islin.
To Friedrich St. Florian, who brought me to America and to the Rhode Island
School of Design.
To Frederik Kiesler, who shared his vision and his house with me.
To John Lobell, and the Architectural League of New York.
To Kurt Kalb and the Galerie Grunangergasse, Wien.
To Peter Cook, Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association, London.
To Philip Johnson, Arthur Drexler, Ludwig Glaeser, Terrence Riley and the
Museum of Modern Art in New York.
To Carter H. Manny and the Graham Foundation, Chicago.
To Pontus Holten and the Moderna Museet, Stockholm.
To Josef Kleihues and the Internationale Bauaustellung, Berlin.
To John Kluge and Metro Media, New York.
To Heinrich Klotz and the Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt.
To Wieland Schmied and the DAAD, Berlin.
To Gunther Domenig and the Technische Universitat, Graz.
To Christoph Mayr-Fingerle and the Galerie Museum, Bozen.
To Peter Noever and the Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Wien.
To Kenneth Frampton for his critical insights and to my friends Walter Pichler,
Peter Kubelka, Hermann Nitsch, P. Adams Sitney and Jonas Mekas, pillars of
inspiration.
I am indebted to all those who have assisted me in my work with dedication and
compassion and have provided me with critical arguments:
Anders Abraham, Kevin Bone, Jeffrey Brown, Heiki Buttner, Paxson Kimbrough, Peter
Leeb, Andrea Lenardin, Joe Levin, Paul Lubowicki, John Maruszczak, Klaus Neumann,
Catherine Seavitt, Warren Ser, Gisela Strohmeier, John Veikos, Guido Zuliani.
Special Thanks
To Brigitte Groihofer, who succeeded in the almost impossible task of archiving my
work and coordinating the production of this book.
To Maria-Anna Friedl for her impeccable eye and her patience.
To Rudolf Siegle, who never lost faith in his author.