FÜR DAS MÜDE MATERIAL (FOR THE TIRED MATERIAL) (2012)

Performance and Object (1:10), wood, screws, craftsmanship, 200x400x400 cm

Keywords: Exhaustion, Modernism and Architecture, Craftsmanship, Appropriation

A roof structure (as a model) for the 21er Haus, Belvedere, Vienna, realized as part of the exhibition Keine Zeit. Busy. Erschöpftes Selbst / Entgrenztes Können in collaboration with the carpentry of Franz Ritzer, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (Diedrich Diederichsen), and the 21er Haus (Bettina Steinbrügge).

Originally built as the Austrian Pavilion for Expo 58 in Brussels, the building was later transported to Vienna and redesigned in 2011. Initially known as 20er Haus and later as 21er Haus, it is now called Belvedere 21 and serves as a venue for contemporary art exhibitions. Für das müde Material engages with the existing pavilion’s statics, structure, and history. A particularly striking feature of its architecture is that the entire weight of the building rests on only four pylons. The roof structure developed for the model follows the specific configuration of the original. The object designed here is a tent roof that reveals both its sculptural quality and construction. As a performative gesture, this strategy aims to present the roof structure as a result of craftsmanship and as a sign of a function of modernity, which, in contrast, was shaped by industrial materials.

21er Haus, Belvedere, Wien (AT), 2012

Art Collection of the City of Vienna (AT)