Günther Domenig liked to portray himself as a heroic lone warrior. Yet his architecture, too, draws on influences. We, Günther Domenig: Corrections to a Legend paints a multi-faceted picture of this extraordinary architect and of all those who made his work possible.
Isabella Marboe, genau!
We Günther Domenig. Corrections of a Legend, Wolfdieter Dreibholz, Michael Zinganel (edd.), Park Books, Zurich 2025 → order now
Günther Domenig was an exceptional figure in the world of art. A man of slight build and delicate frame, imbued with a sense of mission, he was constantly searching for the one true architectural response to a place. He worked obsessively on his magnum opus – the Steinhaus in Steindorf on Lake Ossiach – for twenty-five years. This rugged, sculptural building of exposed concrete, glass and steel, in which a wide variety of volumes interpenetrate to striking effect, is equally his legacy.
Pavillon Olympia-Schwimmhalle München, 1970−1972, photo: unknown, Architekturzentrum Wien, Sammlung
Multiple power supply
The cover features a black-and-white photograph by Dietmar Tanterl: ‘Multiple Energy Feed-in’. Domenig’s head during an EEG scan. At the edge of the image, a total of 52 names are listed one below the other in a column. From the artist-architect Raimund Abraham – a kindred spirit – to Gerald Zugmann, whose photographs first established Günther Domenig’s stone house as a fixed star in the collective visual memory of the architectural scene. The editors Wolfdietrich Dreibholz and Michael Zinganel are also included. Their first-hand accounts contribute significantly to the fascinating pull that the book exerts. For it delves deep into the universe of Günther Domenig, which is populated by incredible geometric structures, expressively cantilevered constructions and sketches that bring breathtaking sequences of spaces to life. Domenig was able to invent, construct and record complex architectural forms in an unmistakable style. His work is multi-layered; his formal language shifts between organic, expressive and brutalist approaches, yet also exhibits structuralist tendencies. The fascinating, growth-oriented megastructure of the town of Ragnitz, which he designed with Eilfried Huth, was awarded the Grand Prix d’Urbanisme et Architecture at an international competition in Cannes.
Außenaufnahme des fertiggestellten Projektes, 1982, Architekturzentrum Wien, Sammlung © Foto: Margherita Spiluttini
Built manifsto
Anyone who strives for the absolute is bound to fail. Yet on his journey there, Domenig gifted himself and the world a number of masterpieces. The Steinhaus stands as a singular exception. “No spatial programme was specified, no budget and no completion date. It is the only built project based exclusively on a genesis invented by Domenig himself,” writes Michael Zinganel in his foreword. “It is regarded as a manifesto of his constant struggle with the excessive demands he placed on himself and on his architecture.”
sketch, Architekturzentrum Wien, Sammlung
Buildings and PEOPLE
What is particularly fascinating about this book is that it links Domenig’s projects to the people who played a key role in them. His development unfolds here in chronological order. The first project, St Martin’s Church, which he designed together with Fritz Lorenz, came about on his mother’s initiative. Reason enough to feature her first, on a page of her own. The church was never built, but was legitimised by Eilfried Huth with his civil engineer’s stamp. This marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration, to which we owe, among other things, the Catholic parish centre in Oberwart, the structuralist town of Ragnitz, and the almost prototypically organic multi-purpose hall of the School Sisters in Graz-Eggenberg. This is documented with a beautiful hand-drawn isometric diagram by Joe W. Kolleger, a fascinating photograph of the formwork being erected for the shotcrete, as well as an overall view and several detailed shots. Its formal language is reminiscent of ribs, skin and bones.
Bausatz für den Nachbau des Strukturmodells der Stadt Ragnitz von Peter Kaschnig © Fotos: Paul Ott, 2022
A Tribute to the team
Volker Giencke was the project manager, but also played a key role in the construction of the Zentralsparkasse Favoriten. In this building, with its striking shed-like façade that arches over the entrance like a mouth, Domenig himself erected an unauthorised monument – a huge concrete cast of his own hand serving as a pipe cover. This was Karl Vak – and he is the next person to be introduced here. He is followed by the firm Metallbau Lenhardt und Heidenbauer. They fabricated the spectacularly curved façade from stainless steel elements. This is how this book works: page by page, it reveals further connections within the ‘imaginary network’ surrounding Günther Domenig. It is a tribute to the many people working behind the scenes and, at the same time, a portrait of an era that has long since passed.
This text by Isabella Marboe was first published by our partner, genau!
We Günther Domenig. Correctons of a Legend
Wolfdieter Dreibholz, Michael Zinganel (edd.)
240 pages
16 x 24 cm
Park Books, Zurich 2025
ISBN 9783038604556
