Under the title “Konstruktive Provokation – Neues Bauen in Vorarlberg” (Constructive Provocation – New Building in Vorarlberg) in 2003 an exhibition was shown in the headquarters of the Institut francais d’architecture (ifa) in Paris. Since then it has toured through other French cities. The publication “Konstruktive Provokation – Neues Bauen in Vorarlberg” appeared at the same time as the eponymous exhibition in ifa. As well as short texts it is above all images that are used to tell about the development of the small province of Vorarlberg. Three levels of images are chosen: 1.) A visual essay about the province and its people in black and white photography. These are images, one could almost say small films, which always have a story to tell and which, when looked at closer, reveal further layers. 2.) The presentation of the current situation of architecture by means of pictures of architecture which, instead of depicting individual buildings in the usual manner of architecture photography, show ensembles which tell something about architectural neighbourhoods and relationships. 3.) Explanatory images that present numbers, facts, and statistics by means of informative, and at times also ironic, graphics. For instance the contour line from Paris to Vienna is shown, or cows are placed on guest beds to illustrate the fact that Vorarlberg has roughly the same number of cows as guest beds. The title shows a sketch by the author of the chronologically organised web of relationships in the architecture scene – who built for whom and with whom; which people and events worked together when; when which architect began to produce his or her own works. On the inside of cover this history is told in a somewhat more precise manner by means of a synchronoptic visualisation.

An innovative high-performance material for timber building is produced layer by layer. Similarly, the verbal and visual communication used to launch it on the market is built up step by step. This laminated veneer lumber product made from beech introduces a new option in structural timber building – an area previously almost entirely dominated by softwoods. The design principle, used in a number of different applications, is based on enclosing and revealing the condensed material in order to develop the strikingly beautiful pattern of the veneer layers in graphic design terms. The result – alongside an exploration of all the possible variations in appearance – is a filigree key image that narrates in an illustrative way the path from peeling the trunk to the product’s linear structure. The robust packaging complements this approach: the weighty wood sample is kept in a kind of casket (for instance hidden in the woods or stacked to make a patchwork).

In 2004 Reinhard Gasser was invited to take part in the annual competition for the corporate design of the organiser of the Kiel Week, the world’s largest sailing event. By dispensing with the usual visual clichés Kiel was declared the protagonist for the communicative scenario. The “i” from Kiel becomes a keel (the German for which is Kiel, just like the name of the town) and, with a part of the word, dips below the water line. All the strength of a ship is gathered in what is called the “keelson” (German “Kielschwein”). In the end a different poster concept by Professor Klaus Hesse was used.

A new building, a facade around eleven metres high with a total length of almost 300 metres. The horizontal strips used by architects Koeb & Pollak in their design for the upper part of the façade are somewhat like splayed plumage, beneath them is a cladding of perforated trapezoid metal. Beneath the grid of the perforations is an underlay consisting of a grid of points. This “printed matter” on the wind protection membrane has an area of over 1000 square metres. These overlapping patterns engage each other in a relationship and develop something new – circular moiré effects that change constantly as you move and according to the angle you view them from. This makes the facade into a surface with multiple layers, a skin that represents both the building volume around which it is wrapped and the business accommodated inside.

The Tannberg forms the axis between Bregenzerwald, Arlberg and Lechtal. The Walser tribunal which gave the regions its name and which, after the arrival of the Walser in the region, unified the three towns of Lech, Warth and Schröcken for centuries, used to convene there. Information about the special qualities and the shared history of this region was to be conveyed at specially selected points and routes for hikers and had to be suitable for exposed locations at a height of up to 2000 metres above sea level, where weather conditions can be extreme. Instead of a conventional signage system the concept is based on benches and »look-out areas« made from planed, untreated larch that carry CNC-milled lines of lettering – no artificial colours, materials or signs. The combination of plain wooden benches with interesting messages gives the individual elements a great real – and also symbolic – effectiveness. Surround by a stunningly beautiful landscape, the users learn worthwhile information and short histories of each specific location. In-depth information that augments the core messages is given on an interactive hiking map with dynamically programmed cartography.

This top magazine from proHolz Austria presents decision-makers, architects and designers with the current trends in timber building at the highest level. Four times each year it brings important information on form, material and construction, theory and practice, timber research and timber construction in the form of interplay between the various disciples. Acceptance, reading frequency and intensity remain at a constantly high level. “zuschnitt” has proven its value as an important element for communication between the specialist public –a magazine about timber as a material and buildings in timber that focuses consistently on the target group of planners and decision-makers. Great attention is paid to the quality of the contents. The visual design of the magazine responds to these aspirations with bibliophile design and implementation. In order to distance itself from the “colour intoxication” that dominates communication media today the reproduction is deliberately restricted to black and white lithography. The inside pages are cleanly and editorially organized with, in part, an emphasis on the text. The impression of advertising is deliberately avoided. Independent surveys have convincingly confirmed the success of this medium in terms of attention, reader-magazine relationships and image. In addition to dealing with factual themes a number of issues are marked by design and poetic intentions. For example issue 16 examined “timber in language and timber as language” – it was deliberately designed without photography. Here things are precisely the other way around: the images are placed in the texts and in the typographical design – Pinocchio’s nose across several pages, a flow image with hundreds of different names of types of wood etc. In the title, too the usual image is avoided and a structured red surface is printed in letter printing with a wooden block. The structure of wood is visible and tangible. “No matter whether it is in the field of architecture or communication, choosing a certain material for a design application means incorporating its function and its character in the design. Beneath the surface of what is purely visible deeper significances of image and things are concealed. Why does something appear to us to be dry, bombastic, dusty, romantic, modest, unappealing or attractive? How can we, as designers, deal with this? The language of the material wood is varied and it can be experienced in a sensual material way; these are not artificially produced surfaces but appearances that develop from the life of the tree.” Reinhard Gassner

The publication “Bauen mit Holz – Wege in die Zukunft” appeared in conjunction with an eponymous exhibition by the TU Munich, which was held in the Pinakothek der Moderne (10 November 2011 to 5 February 2012). The aim was to present the ecological importance, technological potential and new aesthetics of the familiar construction material, timber. With the aid of explanatory graphics the first chapter illustrates the contribution to active climate protection made by the forest as a supplier of material. All the examples of buildings used in the graphics are presented by means of brief texts, informative photos and plans. In the following part nine well-known experts analyse the technological and aesthetic potential of the construction material timber in clearly structured texts. These texts are illustrated by a variety of examples of architecture. In the second chapter the main focus is on the constructional/technological aspect, which is reflected by the greater amount of building documentation material. In the third chapter large-format photography impressively illustrates the enormous range of exciting design possibilities that timber offers as a construction material. Rounded off with a comprehensive bibliography, this publication represents an interesting, descriptive and sensually stimulating read in a reader-friendly format – and not just for experts.

On the occasion of the international year of forests and the plenary meeting of “Wald & Holz” on 21 September 2011 the Austrian forestry and timber industry presents itself in the Viennese parliament. The challenge is to make the “Year of Forests” visible in an effective way and to introduce it into this place, which, socio-politically, is the most important location for discourse. The concept consists of a spectacular installation in the columned hall of the 19th century parliament building designed by Theophil Hansel. Photographs of tree tops captured are printed on a translucent net that is spanned below the glass roof of the hall. The light that filters through the glass roof onto the 270 sq. m. of stretched material creates a striking illusion of the atmosphere in a forest. The marble columns of the hall become tree trunks, the roof of the hall a canopy of leaves. You look, as it were, into the sky, inhaling the air through your nose, fully registering the forest’s rich, earthy smell. Eight planed wooden planks – up to 8.5 metres long – are fixed along the row of columns and in large lettering convey important information about the value and function of forests and of wood. To complement the installation a magazine designed by Gassner Redolfi KG is issued in a large edition by pro Holz Austria. On a total of 16 pages it provides information about forestry and the timber industry, about forest people and wooden heads.

“Holzböden im Freien“ (Wooden Flooring Outdoors) is a book from the series proHolz Information. The prejudice that wood is not practical for outdoor flooring is dismantled by means of expert tips from Holzforschung (wood research) Austria and by a number of convincing international examples. Empirical knowledge and the clarity of the reference projects are deliberately separated from each other in design terms but also in the layout of the book. The book core is embedded between natural brown printed front and back endpapers. The cover shows the sky and clouds and becomes the emotional starting point for the conditions under which wood products are used outdoors.