published in: Deutsches Architektenblatt 06/22, May 30th, 2022

What fascinates you about your favorite house?

It’s a thing with favorite houses. Let’s say it was a special event for me to visit Frank O. Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao for the first time on March 30, 2019. It was like meeting an old acquaintance after a very long time.

I took photographs there that address the irretrievable moment, chance in art and the possibilities and impossibilities of spatial projection: each moment is unique, it is defined by a particular place, the time of day and the unmistakable daylight. Each of the photographs thereby reproduces only a very limited section of this unique moment. The entire abstract composition of the images remains open to meaning.

Who do you particularly appreciate and why? Do you have a favorite style?

In addition to Classical Modernism, I have always been very fascinated by the Deconstructivists. But that was probably due to the time when I was allowed to study at the Vienna University of Technology. I got to know Coop Himmelb(l)au personally after they left my university early. Unforgettable for me is a long evening with final projects of their master class at the University of Applied Arts at that time. We often visited the TU Graz and were guests at Günther Domenig’s institute. Exactly 30 years ago, at the end of March, beginning of April 1992, I was one of the participants in a wonderful architectural excursion to sunny California as a young student assistant at the Institute for Interior Design at the TU Vienna. Among many other fascinating projects, we visited the Gehry Residence, the home of Frank O. Gehry, in Santa Monica on April 1, 1992.

Why are you attracted to the Deconstructivists’ approach?

From my point of view, until now it was the last generation of architects who were able to successfully implement experimental, theoretical and artistic approaches in their architecture. After that, the environment and the requirements changed. When I was a student, I very much enjoyed and intensively studied the theoretical background of deconstructivist architecture. That was very appealing to me then and still is today. I enjoyed reading the positions of Jacques Derrida, Aura and Excess by Peter Eisenman, and The Thousand Plateaus by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.

What do you love most about your job – and why?

Being a generalist and experimental scientist. I don’t know nothing about anything. But that gives me a broad horizon and a deep understanding of processes and structures. And every day I can learn something new.

Wolfgang Höhl, architect, Munich

Light Space and Moment (2019) was awarded with a honorable mention at International Photography Awards 2020

The artwork will be featured in the IPA Annual Book of Photography.

Light, Space and Moment #2 (2019) . Series of Architecture Photography

This artwork will be shown at Swiss Art Expo 2019 in Zurich from 15th-19th of August.

Every moment is unique. It is defined by a specific surrounding space, the time of day and the respective lighting. A photograph can only reflect a very restricted section of this unique moment. In an abstract way it will stay open in significance and meaning. Thus it can touch all people´s minds in the world.

This photograph was taken on March 30th, 2019 at 11:25 local time in Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Find more artworks on Saatchi Art

Ist alles Architektur ? Auf der Suche nach einer Definition digitaler Architektur präsentiert dieses Buch einen bunten spin-off. Leuchtende Netze im Cyberspace, virtuelle Stadtsilhouetten, komplexe 3D-Webgrafiken, fliegende Körper in Augmented Reality, Innenräume in Freiformflächen, interaktive Ambiente, glänzende Pneumatics und Eventarchitektur mit CNC-gefertigten Elementen.

Es sind 79 Wettbewerbsbeiträge von Studenten und Architekten zum Far Eastern International Digital Architectural Design Award (FEIDAD) 2001. Traditionelle Architekturprojekte mischen sich hier in einem ‚digitalen Crossover’ mit städtebaulichen Aufgaben, intelligenter Gebäudetechnologie, Interface Design, Web-Design, Media Art und der experimentellen Prozessforschung.

Ist es eine Definition digitaler Architektur oder auch ein Spiegelbild für das aktuelle Aufsplittern eines alten Berufsstandes in einzelne Spezialgebiete ? Dieses Buch verdeutlicht das Potential und die Notwendigkeit von experimenteller Grundlagenforschung beim Einsatz der Computertechnologie – nicht nur in der Architektur.

Der Herausgeber, Yu-Tung Liu, gliedert die Projekte in drei Kategorien: ‚Liberation of Form and Space’, ‚Evolving Concept of Space’ und ‚Parametric Intelligence of Design’ und entwirft im Vorwort ein neues triadisches Raumkonzept (Mental – Digital – Real). Es folgen Projekte der Juroren – das ‚Hsinchu Museum of Digital Arts’ in Taiwan, eine Co-Produktion von Peter Eisenman und Yu-Tung Liu, die ‚Universe Corporate Headquarters’ in Los Angeles von Greg Lynn und der Entwurf ‚motion:space’ von Birger Sevaldson / OCEANnorth in Helsinki; sie stellen das herkömmliche Planungsschema in Frage.

Interviews mit Peter Eisenman, Greg Lynn und William Mitchell widmen sich dem sinnvollen Einsatz von Computertechnologie im Architekturbüro. Eisenman betont die Vorteile des Computers als Entwurfswerkzeug, um unvorhersehbare (unpredictable) Ergebnisse zu erzielen. Greg Lynn interessiert sich mehr für die CNC-gesteuerte Herstellung gefalteter Oberflächen (folded surfaces). William Mitchell beschreibt Frank Gehry´s Ansatz, mit der Computertechnologie den Entwurfs- und Herstellungsprozess eines Gebäudes zu verändern. Andere Juroren geben knappe Statements zur digitalen Zukunft des Architekturentwurfs.

Wolfgang Höhl (2003): Digitale wisselwerking, in: De Architect jaargang 33
September 2003, S. 81 – 82