Kunsthaus, Graz (2003)
In the middle of Graz, a modern art museum interrupts the traditional architecture of the Styrian capital around it. The Kunsthaus of Graz (also called the Friendly Alien), with its blue acrylic panels, resembles an internal organ taken from a monster. Designed by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, it is part of the ‘blobitecture’ movement, a postmodern design where a building doesn’t fit into the traditional square and rectangle form. Instead, it has random curves and rounded forms all over, rarely with any sort of corner or straight line. Blobitecture is possible thanks to advances in computer aided drafting (CAD) technology, giving designs like the Kunsthaus its unique, seemingly impossible shape. It is, in essence, a sort of creature with no specific ‘body’ to it. This shocking design is meant to be noticed and to stir up controversy, something this building has accomplished on both fronts.
