Exhibition | Hermann Czech. Starting from the existent

Hermann Czech. Starting from the existent presents for the first time in Italy the professional and intellectual trajectory of the acclaimed Austrian architect, a significant critical voice on the contemporary architectural scene. The selected projects for the exhibition cover a relevant time span, from the 1960s to the present, and include urban visions, residential buildings, installations and small transformative interventions on the existing. Drawings, photographs, models and a significant series of original furniture elements are presented along a sequence of rooms that identify design themes related to different scales of the city’s transformation. A series of original documents testifies Czech’s relevant intellectual activity, significantly presenting the link between his critical thinking and Viennese architectural culture. The exhibition is complemented by a photo essay by Stefano Graziani investigating the working space of Czech’s studio in Vienna.

Curated by Hermann Czech, Eva Kuss, Angelo Lunati, Gennaro Postiglione with Emilio Ellena.

* * * * * * * * * *

The opening event is scheduled for May 21, 2025 6:00 pm.

Introduced by: Andrea Campioli, AUIC School Dean, Massimo Bricocoli, DAStU Director, Angelo Lunati DAStU

On the same day May 21 4:30 pm, the “Lecture by Hermann Czech”, introduced by Eve Blau (Harvard Graduate School of Design) will be held at the Patio.                 

The following day May 22 at 4:30 pm, also at the Patio, there will be “Talks around Czech,” a joint conversation between Walter Angonese (USI Academy of Architecture Mendrisio) , Michael Bergquist (Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm), Pierre-Alain Croset (DAStU Polimi), David Kohn (Architectural Association London), Eva Kuss, Wilfried Kuehn (TU Wien), Angelo Lunati (DAStU Polimi), Gennaro Postiglione (DAStU Polimi), Sara Protasoni (DAStU Polimi).

BIO
Born in Vienna in 1936, Hermann Czech studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule and at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna under Ernst A. Plischke. In 1958 and 1959 he attended Konrad Wachsmann’s seminars at the Salzburg Summer Academy. He began working on architectural projects in 1960, from 1963 to 1967 he penned architectural criticism for Die Furche. From the 1970s, projects and realizations at various scales. In 1978, early writings were published under the title Zur Abwechslung (extended new edition 1996); in 2021, Ungefähre Hauptrichtung — Schriften und Gespräche zur Architektur followed (both published by Löcker Verlag). Hermann Czech has served as a visiting professor at national and international universities, including Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, ETH Zurich, TU Wien, and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. He has received awards and distinctions for his architectural work. He participated in the Architecture Biennale in Venice in 1980, 1991, 2000, 2012, and, most recently, in 2023 together with the collective AKT. Hermann Czech lives and works in Vienna

INFO:
From May 21st to July 28th 2025
From 10 AM to 7 PM
Free entrance