The commission for this special exhibition on the occasion of EXPO 2025 was to draw attention to the remarkable development of timber architecture in Austria, presented within the popular cultural setting of the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka. We call the installation "verywood – Austrian Architecture Today."

The basic idea is to merge traditional Japanese paper folding art with the tectonics of contemporary timber architecture using new, planar wood-based materials—and to scale this fusion into a spatial experience. The wooden sculptures unfold in three sequences, alluding to the liveliness of the material. The magic of the breathing form thus merges with the beauty and flexibility of modern wood materials—their aesthetics, lightness, malleability, and structural strength. It is a coherent expression of the message suited to this occasion and space.

In addition to this key visual, interested viewers will find a selection of 26 current examples of modern timber architecture and statements from the architects, curated by Verena Konrad and Hermann Kaufmann, presented on three monitors and the exhibition website.

Wood is in motion. New wood-based materials are continually being researched and developed. Now is the time to reconnect with this globally renowned tradition of building with wood and to lead the constructive design, planning, and building with wood into the future. The goal was to avoid conventional industry marketing and instead give this new cultural building movement with wood the recognition and dignity it deserves.

Art objects created by Andrea Gassner

How is that even supposed to work? Presenting the astonishing renaissance of Austrian timber construction in Japan? And doing so in one of Osaka’s most renowned art temples, while simultaneously promoting cross-cultural knowledge exchange in this field? It’s slowly making its way into international awareness: the so-called “forest-building pump” could become one of the vital lifelines in the urgent search for solutions to halt the catastrophic effects of climate change.

Andrea Gassner’s artistic intervention is tailor-made for this complex subject – and perfectly suited for presentation to the target audience of one of Japan’s most prestigious contemporary art venues. She created expansive folding objects made from slender three-layer boards, each in one of three different stages of unfolding. These nearly “floating figures” evoke the unique aesthetics and vibrancy of wood, its lightness, and the precision of assembling planar high-tech materials. It’s no coincidence that Andrea Gassner draws upon the well-known Japanese art of origami. After all, paper is ultimately derived from wood. With this formal reference, the designer establishes a dialogue between Japanese and Austrian art and culture.

The objects are accompanied by floor-standing monitors displaying video loops with relevant architectural references and statements from leading figures in contemporary timber construction in Austria. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and his delegation visited the special exhibition at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka at the end of May 2025. The exhibition is titled verywood – Austrian Architecture Today.

Atelier Andrea Gassner understands scenography as a perpetual process. Roger Boltshauser’s exhibition is based on this principle: it carries elements from one exhibition venue to the next and reinterpreting and overwriting them at the new location. The scenographic concept for České Budějovice is a development of the earlier exhibition in Boltshauser kiln tower in the grounds of the Brickwork Museum in Cham. There, inspired by the building’s folding iron door, Atelier Andrea Gassner developed tall, tilted elements, each consisting of three picture panels mounted one above the other. In the exhibition in České Budějovice these panels have grown, they extend across the ceiling, continue through doorways between the rooms or stand in space like vertical folding books. The scenography develops into an architecture that intervenes in space, allowing entirely new ways of seeing and new kinds of picture space. Renderings of current projects are shown alongside impressive black and white pictures by photographer Luca Ferrario and photographs from the series of images in earlier exhibitions. In contrast to the scenography that engages space, Boltshauser’s Artwork is presented in the classic way on the walls of the gallery, the pieces in their severe, uniform frames are hung close together. The scale models of the buildings stand like sculptures on individual podiums, suggesting a subtle link between the artistic and architectural work. In the spirit of re-cycle and re-build the basic elements such as shelving for material samples, picture panels and podiums are made entirely from untreated honeycomb cardboard.

The Swiss architect Roger Boltshauser has been working with sustainable building materials and innovative energy concepts for over 20 years. He is known, among other things, for his use of clay, which he also uses in complex buildings and combines with other materials. Roger Boltshauser was awarded the 2024 Semper Prize of the Saxon Academy of Arts. The exhibition provided an insight into the award winner's complex and multifaceted work.

The exhibition made the creative triggers and ways of finding ideas visible using numerous sketches and drawings, an extensive collection of materials in pictures and models. In relation to this, large-format atmospheric black-and-white photographs by various photographers were placed, reflecting Boltshauser's buildings and their materiality in their own way. For a more in-depth insight, plans, pictures, detailed floor plans, cross-sections and texts could be viewed in eight detailed project presentations

Between Light and Shadow

The rhythmic alternation of day and night organizes the course of things. Only through light and darkness do space and time become tangible, gaining meaning, significance, and form. Even though they appear as opposites, they form a unity: when the night recedes and the day begins, when the day slowly fades.

Where there is light, there is also shadow. Where there is shadow, there is also light. Yet the boundaries are never sharp: the darkness penetrates the light, while traces of light can be found in the dark. Is it not ultimately the in-between, the multifaceted gray area, that allows us to have a more nuanced perspective?

Three houses gently nestle against the steep slope in Malbun. In their outward appearance, they lean towards the traditional mountain dwellings— the homes and barns on the alpine pastures that were once used in summer.

Henry Dunant, born in Geneva, lived from 1828 to 1910. He was the initiator of the International Red Cross, dedicated his life to this visionary idea, and played a key role in its realization. The last eighteen years of his life were spent as a guest in seclusion at a former district hospital in Heiden, Appenzell. After extensive revitalization, a museum was established there to honor the life and work of Henry Dunant. The exhibition, conceived by Kaba Rössler and Nadine Schneider and designed by Atelier Andrea Gassner, presents a contemporary display – multilingual and inclusive. The tight sequence of rooms on the ground floor served as a framework for a coherent dramaturgical progression of themes, content, and staging.

The journey begins right at the centrally located entrance. The Red Cross and the Red Crescent – the emblematic symbols of the international committee – are not simply depicted; they are meant to be discovered. Attention is rewarded when, upon looking at the mirrors on the ceiling, the white seating cubes on red carpets transform into the well-known symbols. In the left wing of the building, we encounter spaces for encounter and multimedia dialogue. The sequence of rooms in the right wing is organized around three main topics: the vision and principles of the ICRC, Henry Dunant’s life path, and his existence and rehabilitation in Heiden. Sensually tangible key elements are placed in the center of each room, while walls and window openings are used as displays for content delivery.

Stone sculpture in the first room: Four towering stone slabs, slanted menacingly into the room, are held together by a red band, preventing them from toppling. This stylized cross is inscribed with seven key words that form the foundation of the Red Cross's principles. These words describe humanitarian values that must apply even in the extreme aggression of warfare.

Passage in the middle room: Dunant’s life was marked by both great successes and misguided paths, as well as deep crises. Four towering arches create shifts in perspective and direction within the room, symbolizing the fractures and triumphs in Dunant’s life. The installation is accompanied by a timeline, with additional information available via foldable printed materials mounted on the wall.

Room within a room: We are now in the very place where Henry Dunant, two floors above and over a hundred years earlier, became a hermit for many years. Four semi-transparent, movable fabric panels form an almost enclosed, yet walkable, interior space, making this "cocooning" experience palpable.

 The windows of the rooms offer us unusual views: key messages on translucent fabric panels, the outside world framed through colored glass as picturesque images, and monitors seamlessly integrated into the wall openings, showcasing video testimonies from credible witnesses. It is the coherent script of this focused exhibition, with its impactful scenes, and a bold, creative interpretation, that explains the museum's early success with the public, even in the first weeks after its opening. Visitors with mobility or visual impairments are also able to independently explore the exhibition in an engaging way, thanks to tactile orientation aids, audio stations, and the deliberate low hanging of exhibits.

A tree grows in the forest - wood comes from the tree - and the wood becomes a house. The wooden "woodpassage" sculpture placed outdoors in the centre of Europe exemplifies this process. With simple pictographic symbols over forty stages, it conveys the transformation from fir to house. This conversion is shown by the Atelier Andrea Gassner as cuts out of large blocks of wood, cut by cut. The result is a sensory experience; consisting of four wooden gates, 4.32 m wide, 4.32 m high and 8.65 m long, the "woodpassage" expresses a strong three-dimensional message when viewed from afar. Whilst strolling through the cheerfully illuminated passage, it becomes playful ambassador for the ecological advantages of timber construction. From tree to house! Experience the walk-in installation. An initiative of proHolz Austria, proHolz Bavaria, Lignum Switzerland Forests create a good climate and the resource wood. Through sustainable management, forestry ensures the forest habitat and the availability of wood. The forest area in Europe grows by 1,500 soccer fields every day.

Only 2/3 of the growth are actually used. Wood is available and offers a chance to change resource use. The construction sector accounts for around 40% of all resources. The use of building products made from renewable raw materials saves and secures resources for the future. About 13 cubic meters of wood were needed for the construction of these 4 gates. This amount grows back in Europe's forests in 1/2 a second. Building with wood protects our climate. The photosynthesis of the trees binds 1 ton of CO2 in 1 cubic meter of wood. Timber buildings extend carbon storage capacity and thus relieve the climate in a sustainable way.

About 13 tons of CO2 are permanently bound in the wood of these 4 gates. This corresponds to the pollutant emissions of a passenger car over 8 years.

The circle plays a significant role in the new family center of the Nenzing community—whether in the fairy-tale-like architecture with its rounded arches on windows and doors, or in the guidance system featuring pictograms and elements specifically designed around circles. The facility is called "allesamt." This name, developed during a workshop with the client, has a pleasant ring, feels familiar, and conveys the essence of the community's vision: inclusiveness. It welcomes all the village's children, as well as their parents. The "allesamt" lettering is prominently placed on the building's street-facing edge. The seemingly random spacing between the letters—both large and small—mirrors the rhythm of the façade's design, transforming the name into a logo and emphasizing its phonetic charm.

Pictograms as Play
For concise and memorable room labeling, the center uses names derived from local community parcels and an abbreviation-based counting rhyme familiar to children:

"Be La Gu – Ro Ha Ru – Mo Ma Hei – und du bisch frei!"

These two-letter terms designate the various functions of the rooms in the building. However, it's the combination with graphic symbols that makes them easy to remember for both children and adults. To draw attention to this sign system and encourage playful interaction, changeable pictograms have been installed at child-friendly heights. For example, in the central dining area, colorful discs on a plate invite rearrangement into shapes like flowers or emojis. In the sleeping areas, there are eyes that can open and close. In the sports and activity room, a spinning soccer ball is featured, while the oasis area showcases letters "riding" on waves.

Summed Up
The building is spatially organized into four diagonally offset "houses" running from west to east. To aid orientation, the main entrances and rooms for the three different child groups are marked in the primary colors red, blue, and green. Wayfinding begins even before reaching the building: in the nearby underpass, large dots on walls and ceilings grab attention. Additional dots appear as floor markings on sidewalks, in the parking lot, and along the path to the center.

The sign design by Atelier Andrea Gassner seamlessly integrates visual and verbal elements into the architectural concept. Here too, the playful, colorful guidance system fits naturally into the overall design, adding an imaginative accent and extending the story of this new communal living space in a creative way. The overarching goal is to significantly enhance the identification and connection to this positive space for children and families in Nenzing.

Showing neither trepidation nor any form of banal showmanship the blocky new building by Boltshauser Architekten on the slopes of the hill occupied by the convent gives the existing buildings a modern stamp. The vertical plane draws its strength from the distinctive layering of the building in storeys above the plateau and the basement floors, which are visibly anchored in the slope. Through the privileged position on the plateau two almost complementary visual axes are established to the east the mountains, to the west Lake Lucerne. The design concept for finding the way around the building is based on this complementary pair and uses the semantics of the words “Berg” (mountain) and “See” (lake) to facilitate orientation in the principal directions inside the building.

These terms are subtly reflected by the typography and layout. While the numbers, symbols and lettersthat refer to the lake side are hollowedout, like vessels, those that relate to the side of the building facing the mountain are full and corporeal. On the different storeys the information about which rooms are to be found on the respective floor is mounted in two lines: the word “Berg” is placed above the line with the room numbers, whereas the word “See” is positioned below thenumbers.

A high-quality typeface family with different weights was chosen for the numbers and the lettering – ranging from the classic Antique with bold capitals to sans serif Linear Antiqua – and was used flexibly. The design is intended to reflect the dignity of this order of nuns thatis more than 150years old while also meeting the need for legibility and a contemporary aesthetic. To employ the same language as the architecture the materialisation harmonises with the canon of materials and colours used in the building. The lettering for the outdoor signage on the trass lime facades is made of sanded and galvanised iron, while inside the building the lettering, which is mounted on a variety of materials, is made of colourless matt acrylic glass. The typographical layout is generally axial and conveys a sense of calm and serenity. The plans that help you identify your location and to find your way around the building have a surprisingly unfussy and unornamented character. They resemble tabular typesetting, which, thanks to the use of lines, almost automatically transforms into a cross-section through building, while at the same time providing the overview and orientation required.

Whenever lettering is to be used in a school building in order to identify rooms and help orientation, alongside the demands of the signage, a playful game with letters seems a logical option; it in this building that children first learn to read and write correctly. For the new Altenstadt elementary school Atelier Andrea Gassner literally wove the signage design together with the architecture and the tactile materials that are left in their natural state. We see letters cut out of solid ash with laser, in the form of colourful upholstered furniture or glowing yellow plexiglass with magical colour reflections – between the panes of the glazing. The Atelier developed a special typeface that is based on the method of learning how to write. The beautifully shaped upper-case letters are divided into two elements in accordance with the momentum of this method. In the seating in the large courtyard the game played with the shapes of the letters is especially effective when seen from the upper floor. The cushions for lying or sitting on and for exercising are revealed as words formed from the letters of the two words “PAUSE” (break) and “INSEL” (island). The furniture can be moved around and arranged in different ways, creating anagrams and entirely new words. As well as being recognizable from afar on account of their glowing colours the almost wall-height capital letters on the facades are also effective impact protection. The clouds of words beside the entrances to the classrooms are like ornamental wall graphics. The columns of numbers and words stacked above each other at the classrooms doors are a simple plug-in system that can be used to make different room names. This is all serves orientation and direction in and around the building but is also, quite consciously, a playful educational interaction and perception. With this design Atelier Andreas Gassner operates in both a creative and interdisciplinary way: between space and graphics, between systematics and design, between play and teaching.