Karl Schwanzer – Architect. Visionary. Maestro. Three Decades of Architectural and Contemporary History

A radical life as a graphic novel It is impossible to imagine Austrian architecture and contemporary history without Karl Schwanzer, who would have marked his hundredth birthday in 2018. His buildings, like the BMW administration building in Munich, caused quite a furor domestically and abroad; his institute at the Technical University of Vienna influenced offices like Coop Himmelb(l)au, Haus-Rucker-Co, Missing Link and ZÜND-UP. Posthumously, Schwanzer rose to cult status among his staff, students and clients, conferred especially for his passionate way of working, sparing no effort or expense, and for his relentless search for the optimum solution. In every sense, his life and work were unconventional. The idea to relate them in the form of a graphic novel is also quite unconventional, but certainly a logical consequence! * A radical life as a classic graphic novel * Karl Schwanzer: Entrepreneur, architect and teacher * Projects: BMW, Philips-Haus, 20er Haus, Austrian embassy in Brasilia and many more It is impossible to imagine Austrian architecture and contemporary history without Karl Schwanzer, who would have marked his hundredth birthday in 2018. His buildings, like the BMW administration building in Munich, caused quite a furor domestically and abroad; his institute at the Technical University of Vienna influenced offices like Coop Himmelb(l)au, Haus-Rucker-Co, Missing Link and Z{uFFFD}UND-UP. Posthumously, Schwanzer rose to cult status among his staff, students and clients, conferred especially for his passionate way of working, sparing no effort or expense, and for his relentless search for the optimum solution. In every sense, his life and work were unconventional. The idea to relate them in the form of a graphic novel is also quite unconventional, but certainly a logical consequence!

Karl Schwanzer, der 2018 einhundert Jahre alt geworden wäre, ist aus der Architekturgeschichte Österreichs nicht wegzudenken. Seine Bauten, etwa das BMW Gebäude in München, haben im In- und Ausland für Aufsehen gesorgt; sein Institut an der TU Wien hat Büros wie Coop Himmelb(l)au hervorgebracht. Seine Mitarbeiter, Studenten und Bauherren verliehen ihm posthum einen Kultstatus, der insbesondere durch seine leidenschaftliche Arbeitsweise, bei der er nichts und niemanden verschonte, und seine unerbittliche Suche nach der optimalen Lösung begründet ist. Seine Arbeitsweise war in jeder Hinsicht radikal und unkonventionell. Dass nun sein Leben in Form eines Graphic Novel erzählt wird, ist sicher auch unkonventionell, aber durchaus folgerichtig!