Drauforum Cultural Centre, Oberdrauburg

The architecture of Drauforum can be classified among the better examples of critical regionalism, as it displays a masterful yet contemporary interpretation of traditional spatial concepts and indigenous architectural elements.

Oberdrauburg is strategically located at the crossroads of major transportation routes, halfway between Graz and Innsbruck, close to the Italian border and on the border between Carinthia and East Tyrol. It is also the first municipality in Carinthia to be crossed by the first stage of the popular Drava Cycle Route, which connects places along the Drava from Austria, through Slovenia and on to Varaždin in Croatia. The Drava Cycle Route is also part of the Via Julia Augusta cultural axis. Oberdrauburg has some 1,200 inhabitants, and the multifunctional project in the centre of the town was the result of an initiative of the townspeople, who are involved in more than 20 clubs with different activities. They needed a place to meet and work, and wanted an information and tourist centre with a focus on cycling, culture, history and the riverside landscape, as well as exhibition and conference facilities. The Drauforum has revitalised the town culturally, socially and economically, and is an asset for the neighbouring municipalities, as it will also be available to them.

The Alt-Ems Castle ruins tower high above the town. Wolf Dietrich of Hohenems, whose mercenaries fought for the Medicis, among others, married Chiara de Medici, the sister of Pope Pius IV (1559-1565). His son Markus Sittikus was cathedral provost of Constance, and he had the narrow plots of land parcelled out, employed best craftsmen and had his palace built by the star architect Martino Longhi, who was sent from Rome. In 1617, Imperial Count Kaspar of Hohenems granted the Jews extensive rights, and thus the Jewish community flourished in the town, with 564 living there in 1862. There was a synagogue, a mikveh (ritual bath), a home for the poor and a cemetery. The rise of Nazism wiped out all Jewish life, but the buildings remained intact.

In 2020, the architectural competition for a cultural, information and tourist centre was won by the architectural office Eva Rubin from Klagenfurt. The design took place in 2021, and in 2023 the centre was built and handed over to the citizens. In spring 2024, I was invited by the Architektur Haus Kärnten (Carinthian House of Architecture) to be part of the jury for the Kärntner Landesbaupreis, which has been awarded by the Land of Carinthia since 1992. We shortlisted ten of the 21 projects and visited the buildings. The Drauforum stood out for its multi-faceted architectural language and quality of execution, which is why we awarded it the top prize.

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