A New Extension of the Klagenfurt City Theater

Gunther Domenig - Graz, Austria

?The 3D model served as the basis for the detailed drawings and allowed the architects to understand the complex building thoroughly.?

Architect Günther Domenig chose a radical solution for the new administrative section of the theatre building in Klagenfurt, Austria, originally built by Fellner & Helmer. Planned and designed with ArchiCAD, the project introduces a dramatic floating axial cantilever while respecting the building?s original form.

The Klagenfurt City Theatre project won an Austrian competition in May 1995. Günther Domenig created the interior and exterior perspective views with ArchiCAD. ArchiCAD?s dedication to architecture offers a high level of flexibility in planning. The 3D model serves as the basis for the detailed drawings and at the same time allows the architects, in a short period of time, to understand the complex building thoroughly.

Originally the building?s shape was strictly axial, but its symmetry had been broken by an extension built in the 1960s. The new project was to add a staff entrance area, two wings, and access to a park. Domenig?s idea was to remove the 1960s extension of the building and to develop new construction conforming to the axial design of the original elements. Several functional aspects had to be taken into consideration: the new wing was to be the home of the administration, the workshops, the technical staff and the artists. Connected to the old building, it houses the stage sets and provides a new entrance to the stage.

Both eastern cross naves have been replaced by joints. The lateral closing masses are attached to the main building and respect its proportions. Beyond the entrance area, a lighting cavity placed crosswise borders the park surrounding the whole structure.

The most powerfully expressive architectural element is the floating cantilever reinforcing the main axis. The cantilever?s roof, bending and protruding over the park, is made of a noncorroding alloy of copper and bronze, built on the existing steel framework over the stage.

The mass as a whole is an integrated unit, unifying interior and exterior space, structure and material. The cantilever, by contrast, is an architectural sculpture, the protrusion a combination of tension and relaxation. The elements around this wing are the joints of the oblique glass staircases attached on the east side and the bays of windows finely coated with metal elements, reflecting the existing facades.

According to Jurgen Rogener, CAD manager at Günther Domenig Architects:?The architectural nature of ArchiCAD offers great flexibility in planning, which allows us to use the 3D model to develop floorplans and working drawings of the complex project simultaneously in a short time.?