This new book is the product of a unique research, teaching, and
exhibition project at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Faculty and
students of the university's Institute for Art and Architecture IKA
dedicated a full year to investigate the highly controversial modernist
architecture of the three decades between 1950 and 1980. Their goal was
to assess the state and current use and to interpret the aesthetic,
history, and public acceptance of four selected buildings from today's
perspective. Eventually, the students created designs and proposals for
moderate to radical changes for these structures. The surprising results
of this undertaking offer a very differentiated picture of Vienna's
General Hospital (AKH), the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation's studio
complex (ORF-Zentrum), the Vienna University of Economics (WU), and the
Alterlaa housing estate. Big! Bad? Modern: reflects this diversity:
Arranged by keywords derived from the featured projects, it provides
easy access to the rich and comprehensive collection of materials and
manifold positions, and opens up new perspectives. Essays by renowned
authors such as Hermann Czech, Francoise Fromont, Harry Gluck, Sabine
Kraft and Michael Zinganel and a preface by Nasrine Seraji round out the
book.
