Publisher's Synopsis
Within the scope of "Graz 2003 - Cultural Capital of Europe" the city of Graz provided the possibility for the two London-based architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier to transform a most visionary concept into built reality: The Kunsthaus Grazinternational exhibitions of modern and contempo rary art. The unusual biomorphic forms of the "Friendly Alien" make for a suspenseful dialogue with the historic old town, especially with the century-old Graz landmark, the cubic clock tower high up on castle hill.;This publication documents the development of the "Friendly Alien" from an utopian concept to a highly complex functional body. The extensive photographic material includes computer simulations and sheds light on the urban environment and its history, shows the unique architectural features of the building and investigates with an "x-ray view" the complex network of static and technical utilities in the "skin", the nerve centre of the "Friendly Alien".
