The overall architectural vision 2024+
The Benedictine Abbey of Admont was founded in 1074 and is today the oldest existing monastery in Styria. In addition to the Admont Abbey Church and the monastery, there are numerous other facilities on the property, such as the Admont Abbey Library with the archive, the entire museum complex and the Benedictine grammar school. In 2024, the monastery will celebrate its 950th anniversary. Abbot Gerhard and the chapter have taken this as an opportunity to develop an overall architectural vision for the redesign of the southern area of the monastery grounds. HOFRICHTER-RITTER Architekten ZT GmbH from Graz won the architectural competition organised for this purpose.
The visitor centre / the new gate
to the Benedictine Abbey of Admont
With a total of 7,200 m2 of usable space, a linear, connecting structure complements the existing buildings to create an overall ensemble that does justice to both the historical monuments and the functional requirements of a modern tourist experience. Similar to a precise surgical incision, the architects have created a slightly curved, linear structure in the historical ensemble, with existing qualities coming to light at the connection points to the existing buildings - both above and below ground. This opens up completely new perspectives for visitors along the path, offering interesting insights into the centre of the monastery. From the car park, visitors enter the central "gate" - the reception area - from where they can either turn left into the wine world, stocked with wines from the abbey vineyard, and the centrally located abbey shop, or right into the centre of the abbey with the abbey church, the museum or the abbey library.
Interactive installation
The interactive installation is intended to provide an easy-to-understand yet impressive overview of a possible further development. The installation essentially consists of three separate parts that communicate with each other permanently. The high-resolution wall screen provides photorealistic images and further in-depth information depending on the selected topic area. The true-to-scale model of the site and all the buildings can be interactively staged to great effect using hundreds of LEDs. All three parts are brought together and controlled via the upstream stele with touchscreen. This invites visitors to interact directly and intuitively familiarise themselves with the future "gateway to Admont Abbey". Just try it out! Move the schematic section to the left and right on the touchscreen and select one of the highlighted points. Not only the screen, but also the model will follow your path through the new and existing buildings.
Architecture: HOFRICHTER-RITTER Architekten ZT GmbH, Graz | Team: Gerhard Schweitzer, Franz Stiegler-Hameter, Frederik Baldasty, Gernot Ritter, Veronika Hofrichter-Ritter, Christian Rauch | hofrichter-ritter.at; Landscape architecture: KOALA, Graz | Team: Veronika Oberwalder, Robert Kutscha | koala.at; Renderings and animations: Christian Freißling, Graz, nonstandard.at; Modelling and lighting: Paul Frick and Thomas Tunariu, Graz, Team: Thia Amlacher, Peter Vörös, Umut Can Kizilray, Jasmin Elmazovski, Berit Pichler, bildermehr.at; Touch screen and interactive control: Richard Dank, Graz, richdank.com;
