Architecture
From tobacco factory to exhibition venue
The halls of today’s Kunsthalle Krems were once the production site of the Österreichische Tabakregie, a tobacco company. Erected in 1852, the building was used for manufacturing and storing tobacco products, and after 1958, carpets were produced at this early industrial production site. After closing in 1980, the empty halls were used for temporary projects, demonstrating their quality as exhibition spaces.
Thanks to the commitment of artist Wolfgang Denk and the initiative of Lower Austria’s cultural policymakers, an international architecture competition was announced in 1992—this nineteenth-century building was to be transformed into Austria’s “most modern” exhibition hall. The architect Adolf Krischanitz impressed the jury with a design concept that sensitively integrated the old building fabric into a newly created structure.
The early industrial character of the building will be preserved in the sections of the old building where historically important architectural elements such as supports, windows, etc. will be retained. The newly created spaces, their materials and furnishings, are understated in order to offer the greatest scope of possibilities for the presentation of art.
Adolf Krischanitz’s design centers on the interplay between the former tobacco factory and the new exhibition hall. The old and new buildings together create differently structured areas, which include, in addition to the actual exhibition spaces, the foyer, offices, storage and technical rooms. An interior courtyard stretches between the parallel building sections and is also used today as an event and exhibition space.
Maximum scope for art
The stairwell to the neighboring Stein prison was walled up and the windows sealed off. Original elements such as columns were retained in the historical area, while additions are easily recognizable: built with exposed concrete, their materials and furnishings are understated in order to offer the greatest scope of possibilities for presenting art.
The columned hall gives the exhibition space the character of a modern temple complex.
Permanent artworks
Permanent works of art by Eva Schlegel and Peter Kogler define the interior of the Kunsthalle Krems. In 1998, Eva Schlegel created a glass wall with blurred lettering that forms a transparent connection between the central hall and the exposed concrete ramp designed by Adolf Krischanitz. The work was updated by the artist in 2017. In 1996, Peter Kogler created an installation-based work for the stairwell in the form of wallpaper. Depicted is a complex system of tubes.
Art in public space
In recent years, the area just outside the Kunsthalle Krems has become an extended exhibition venue in public space. Sculptural works by Thomas J Price, Hans Kupelwieser, and the concrete Porsche ElfElf by Gottfried Bechtold have invigorated the Museumsplatz on the Kunstmeile Krems.