Kunsthaus Graz, Art museum in Graz, Austria.
The structure rises in organic form with a bluish shimmering exterior skin composed of 1,288 acrylic glass panels across roughly 64,500 square feet (6,000 square meters) of exhibition space on two floors. The curved structure rests on a rectangular base and contrasts markedly with surrounding historical buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries along the Mur Canal.
The museum was completed in 2003 as part of events marking Graz's year as European Capital of Culture, realized according to designs by British architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier. The project emerged from an international competition in 1998 and cost approximately 42 million euros, with the unconventional architecture generating both enthusiasm and controversial discussion.
The institution serves as a major Austrian center for contemporary visual arts, presenting works by international and regional artists through rotating annual exhibitions focused on media art, photography and installation. The absence of a permanent collection allows flexible programming that responds to current artistic developments and experimental practices in the visual arts.
Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00 with standard admission of 11 euros for adults and free entry for children. The building sits roughly 1,000 feet (300 meters) south of downtown along the eastern bank of the Mur River, accessible via tram lines 1, 3, 6 and 7 to Kunsthaus stop. Audio guides are available for a fee.
The building's exterior functions as a BIX media facade featuring 930 integrated fluorescent tubes that can display moving images and artistic projections across the entire surface after nightfall. This installation was developed by Berlin-based artist collective realities:united and transforms the architecture itself into a medium for digital art and public communication.
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