Kunsthaus, Graz

Friendly Alien.

In 2003, Graz was the European Capital of Culture and landed the Kunsthaus, which the architects described as a friendly alien, on the banks of the Mur. The biomorphic building with its BIX media façade was by no means undisputed – but it was innovative.
The cooling system used here was also innovative: GraviVent® is a cooling system of short distances and fast reaction times. Developed in the 1980s by Siegfried Timmler, the system is based on the simple law of nature that warm air rises. When it is discharged and cooled, it falls down the shaft and re-enters the room through air outlets – energy-neutral and sustainable. Up to 60 % of the energy otherwise used can be saved compared to split devices.

Since the thermoformed façade not only resembles a blobb on the outside, but also consists mainly of curves and dome-like structures in the exhibition area, the climate concept for the Kunsthaus is a hybrid system consisting of a cooling/heating floor, the GraviVent® silent gravity cooling system and a ventilation system. Installed behind the facing shell and beautifully concealed by the curtain wire mesh, the system is still doing its job reliably after twenty years. The cooling and heating system requires very little maintenance, as the technical manager told us enthusiastically in conversation.
In the meantime, the people of Graz are also enthusiastic about the Kunsthaus – it is just friendly, the alien, and an architectural landmark.