Friedrich Achleitner (1930-2019)
Prize winner
As a literary figure of many interests, Friedrich Achleitner belonged to the Vienna Group, wrote contributions increasingly concerned with architectural criticism and ultimately led to a systematic investigation of Austria’s building culture.
Achleitner has developed a special quality of precise analysis of buildings and over-arching development in architectural and urban history on the basis of a productive combination of literature and architectural criticism, which until now has shaped his rich oeuvre. Special mention should be made of the documentation on “Austrian Architecture of the 20th Century”, which is collected in three volumes and which has set the highest standards for historiography as well as for other fields. This comprehensive work is the result of many year’s research on the basis of careful evaluation of all accessible archival resources, personal visits of all buildings on site and their linguistically brilliant evaluation.
With typological studies of regionalism in architecture Achleitner gave an impetus to theoretical reflection on design practice which also had an international impact. Referred to as the “conscience of architecture”, he participates in current debates and is expanding his life’s work in further studies.
Dietmar Steiner