In the Absence of Raimund Abraham

Book excerpt: Raimund Abraham's work stands for radicalism and utopia. As a nonconformist, principal critic, and champion of a fundamental architectural stance, Abraham (1933-2010) campaigned tirelessly for architecture's collective renewal. With the construction of the Austrian Cultural Forum Building in New York (2002), he made an outstanding contribution to contemporary architecture. In honor of Raimund Abraham, the MAK, Austrian Museum of Applied Arts-Contemporary Art, joined forces with the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts Vienna to stage the Vienna Architecture Conference 2010. This publication assembles the lectures, speeches, and discussions held throughout the conference as well as a number of essays written especially for this volume. A DVD documents Raimund Abraham's last lecture, held only hours before his tragic death by accident at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles.