MUNICIPAL THEATRE KLAGENFURT

The historic building – a design by the renowned theatre architects Fellner & Helmer – stems from the years 1908-1910 and was erected for the emperor's 60th jubilee. Its „somewhat dry cross  between Historicism and Jugenstil is," according to Friedrich Achleitner, „typical for the architects' late work." But the building has undergone some profound changes, the worst which were in the 50s and 60s. Günther Domenig's proposal for the closed competition in 1995 was, in this vein, to restore the building as far as possible back to its original state, to remove newer alterations and to add an extension to take the performer's dressing rooms, rehearsal spaces, workshops, the administration, technical apparatus and other ancillary functions. This construction continues on the axis of the original historic building but is, at the same time, far more than merely an additive. For as one would expect from Günther Domenig it has been formulated as a momentous architectural sculpture, as a very plastic „beam" (German Pfahl; Domenig) in the main axis of the theatre, rising slightly, becoming narrower and projecting out a long way towards the Achterjäger Park. The stairwells, glazed at an angle, and elements without window surrounds which react to the existing facade, layered with horizontal glass elements, serve as joints arround the „beam".