Building Site Art

Contemporary art on and in public buildings – 1993 artists in Linz have been actively involved in large-scale urban planning measure starting from the planning phase.

Not just an addition or mere decoration

To promote an exciting dialogue between art and architecture, the Department of Structural Engineering allocates two percent of the annual building costs for the City of Linz as a budget for “Building Site Art”. The objective of “Building Site Art” is a cooperation of equal partners between architecture and art for public buildings. Essential precondition for the success of this demanding plan: the meticulous reading and understanding of existing architecture. It is only in this way that artistic works can be sensitively and subtly integrated in harmony with the building.

Visible Sign in Public Space

Since the resolution of the City Council in 1993, “Building Site Art has left visible signs in public space: for example, in the Old City Hall in the Main Square of Linz as a fundamental and independent component of the revitalization, in the senior citizen's center Dauphinestrasse (wall design by Konrad Winter) or at the kindergarten Scharmühlwinkel. And also with current building projects such as the new senior citizens’ center “Franz Hillinger” (including the artistic design of a direction system and mobile separating walls) and the Knowledge Tower at the Central Train Station, “Building Site Art” takes up the challenge of this stimulating interchange: the manifold interrelationships between the surroundings, the architecture and its users.