ARCHITECTURAL WORLD

Architect, Austria and United States The Austrian-born architect Raimund Abraham has played an influential role in architectural discourse and education over the last four decades. His challenging oeuvre of unbuilt work, consisting almost entirely of seductive architectural renderings, delineates a complex architectural position revolving around subversion, metaphor, and a fascination with archetypal forms. His recently completed high-rise in Manhattan for the Austrian Cultural Institute is the most recognizable of a portfolio of built work that has brought together many of the philosophical themes that have preoccupied this enigmatic architect over a prolonged period. Raimund Abraham was born in Lienz, Austria, in 1933 and was educated at the Technical University in Graz, graduating in 1958. In the early sixties Abraham followed in the footsteps of avant-garde groups such as Archigram, the Metabolists, and fellow Austrians Coop Himmelb(l)au in offering proposals for technology-driven ...

Architect, Finland Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, whose architecture is often described as organic and close to nature, is regarded as one of the most significant architects of the 20th century. The majority of historians and critics emphasize three aspects in Aalto’s architecture that set it apart from any other architect’s work and explain his importance: his concern for the human qualities of the environment, his love of nature, and his Finnish heritage. It seems that Aalto’s architecture is a socially refined reflection of Le Corbusier’s work, a masterly connection of avant-garde culture with traditional values. Despite being well integrated into the art world, apparently Aalto did not hesitate to include in his designs unfashionable issues that were dismissed by other architects of his time: individuality in mass housing, social equality in theaters, and his foible for details, such as extreme, carefully planned light systems in public buildings. From this angle, Aalto turns out to be a...