Raimund Abraham
Austrian Cultural Forum Tower
New York, NY
The Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria has announced that its much-heralded Austrian Cultural Forum Tower in midtown Manhattan will open to the public in April 2002.
Model photo: Kirsten Kiser
Twenty-five feet wide, 100 feet deep, and 24 stories tall, the new Forum skyscraper - a slender glass and concrete edifice alternately sloping and stepping dramatically back from the streetline at 11 East 52nd Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues - will be the first completed American building designed by Austrian born, New York based architect Raimund Abraham. The tower, commissioned and owned by the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, was developed by Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG), Vienna, Austria.
Hailed by critics internationally as a significant new architectural landmark, the Austrian Cultural Forum tower was conceived as a headquarters for ongoing public programs that explore contemporary Austrian culture in relationship to America and as a means of advancing international understanding and exchange. The Forum organizes and supports hundreds of such programs annually in New York and other American cities.
The 52nd Street tower is expected to accommodate a broader array of events with great technological sophistication. Facilities include exhibition galleries; a state-of-the-art theater for recitals, screenings, and lectures; a library; loftily presentation areas and classrooms; reception and meeting spaces; staff offices; a multi-level residence for the Forum's director; and an opener loggia at the tower's pinnacle.
Dr. Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, director of the Austrian Cultural Forum, also announced today that the new building will be celebrated with a three-month inaugural arts festival showcasing both renowned senior artists and younger emerging talents. Under the banner "Transforming Modernity," the festival will launch on April 18th and run through the month of June.
The model for the Austrian Cultural Forum Tower is in the exhibition "Austrian Art, Architecture and Design" opening November 1st at the Shanghai Art Museum.
October 22, 2001
