The artistic intervention made by Andrea Gassner to mark the anniversary year quotes fragments from Wolf Huber’s most important visual work. Alone the choice of the first name “Wolf“ as the initial typographical visual medium refers semantically to an ambivalent narrative. In the cycle of images for billboards in the James Joyce Passage iconographical quotations from Huber’s visual work are integrated in the capital letters W O L F. Huber liked to make dramatic use of light, shadow, and space. He preferred garish colours and exaggerated facial expressions. The work for the glass cube on Jahnplatz continues the game played with the capital letters of the name W O L F but in three dimensions. Through Gassner’s interpretation of Gothic windows as a frieze of pointed arches the cube mutates into a kind of sacred showcase. The large punched-out letters and the yellow-coloured glass that backs them develop an unusual translucency and an interaction of light and space. *WOLF HUBER* was an important Austrian-German Renaissance painter, printmaker, and architect. Born in Feldkirch in 1485, he worked in Passau from around 1510. In 1540 he became court painter at the bishop’s see there, and in 1541 was appointed Passau town architect. He died on 3 June 1553. *ORNAMENT AND RENAISSANCE* Wolf Huber was one of the most important masters of the Danube School – a Renaissance stylistic movement. It began in the Danube valley area in Austria and Bavaria at the end of the 15th century and extended across a large part of the alpine countries *LIGHT AND SPATIALITY* In terms of content and form light, colour, and space are taken beyond their natural function. Poetry or drama shape the pictures in which nature and human beings blend to create a single entity. Instead of noble restraint, there is strong emotion, instead of harmony distorted proportions. *COLOUR AND EMOTION* Wolf Huber liked to use garish colours and exaggerated facial expressions. Human beings are depicted as vulnerable creatures; not composed but furious or fearful, they do not simply accept but suffer. Even the faces of the animals express deep feelings.

The new SWG production building in Waldenburg blazes new trails in the structural use of timber for an industrial building. The innovative structure of the roof to the hall requires almost no columns and represents a pioneering achievement in structural timber engineering. The junctions of the delicate structural members were made using the completely new timber-based material “BauBuche” and the highly specialised SWG Assy screws – and it is precisely this high-tech product that will be manufactured here in the future. The title “Corporate Timber” is a reference to the way in which the architecture links the choice of material, the efficiency, and the corporate philosophy of this screw manufacturer. Reason enough to produce a comprehensive publication about this building with the support of the well-known German construction publishers DETAIL, specialist journalist Marko Sauer as editor, and other excellent authors. The “script“ for structuring the contents was based on the way in which a woodscrew is used: putting in place – screwing in – connecting. The visual expression of this takes the form of triple punched holes that start at the cover and continue through the book to different depths. This three-dimensional intervention is something completely new in bibliophile book design and, as well as having a strong visual impact, it also guides the user. Each of the three punched holes ends precisely where the respective chapter begins. In three steps the approach to the building project, the materialisation, and structural innovations, as well the architecture are presented as a whole. Texts in both German and English accompany the series of images as well as self-explanatory plan drawings specially conditioned for the printed matter. Diagram graphics that are reduced to essentials function as a didactic aid for complex research work on a life cycle assessment of the building.

The Stiftsarchiv (Abbey of St Gall) commissioned a a g to design an events poster for the big annual exhibition “Aqua – Mönche am Wasser“. It was also to be animated as a digital affice and presented in digital media. Today, the animation of images has even reached the classic analogue medium of the poster. This special effect is presented on what are called “e-panels“ – an outdoor display in the well-known Swiss world format. The headlines are large, golden, and pushed to the edges. The photorealistic “blotches” applied to the Baroque, illusionistic painting of the sky in the form of oversized drops of water are what constitute the image’s appeal. The spiritual significance of water and the way this meshes with the culture of religion is, after all, the theme of this exhibition. In the animated version the water appears to flow. The challenge was to prevent the animation from interfering with the distillation of contents to a catchy punchline that is a basic element of poster design and to avoid lapsing into merely decorative effects. The sole purpose of the reduced animation is to strengthen and continue narrative character of the visual idea.

Rieden School is made up of Rieden Primary School and Rieden Middle School, which are housed in two independent but connected building volumes. While the two school areas are essentially spatially separated, they come together in the rooms that are used jointly such as the gym, library, cafeteria, and administration. The aim, therefore, was to create clear signage and, using just a few accents, to provide easily understandable directions and routes within the school – starting with the school name above each of the three main entrances. The principal design elements are the nomenclature based on easily understandable terms, differentiation by means of colour, and spatial pictograms that employ the plans of the different storeys. Mixing the light blue for the primary school with the red of the middle school produces a rich shade of brown, which is the primary decorative colour in Rieden School. The colour concept borrows from the colour moods and the materials inside the building. Placing the lettering and illustrations directly on the walls obviates the need for additional panels and offers the requisite flexibility in choosing suitable positions for signs and names at important junctions.

In accordance with the purpose for which it was founded the DBU (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt/German Federal Environmental Foundation) subsidises innovative, environmentally conscious, model building projects. The concept for the subsidies also includes financing scientific studies of the respective projects and disseminating these in quality book form. Atelier Gassner was commissioned to devise a concept for an edition consisting of several volumes. The first publication documents the new building for Schmuttertal Gymnasium (high-school): here innovative educational ideas and a participative approach to planning produce unusual spatial systems, ambitious ecological goals direct the construction, and functionality and inspiration shape the architecture. Client and subsidy provider, users and planners, experts for building law and technical services document the creation of this building, augmented by plans and photographs. The editions were deliberately published in German, and the search for a name led to the striking and yet self-explanatory term “Bauband” (literally “building volume”). The challenge was how best to describe and depict complex contents so that they are clearly legible and can be quickly understood. At the same time this book was not intended to be a standard illustrated architectural volume nor a dry treatise with a preponderance of text. Using the tools provided by micro and macro typographical design and making considerable demands on editorial photography the narrative requirements could be successfully met. The plans and diagrams, which were produced especially for this book, provide in-depth information. Through the format alone, the easy to open “Swiss brochure” and the stable card binding, the book suggests a report with the character of a working folder. A colour, which differs from volume to volume, contrasts with the restrained grey that is used for the covers of all the volumes. This striking coloured framework for the book block is reflected in completely coloured pages that separate the chapters and visibly articulate the contents and, when one looks at the cut edge of the closed book, appear like inserted “floor levels”.

As early as 1993 Atelier Gassner designed a guidance system for hiking trails throughout the State of Vorarlberg, working in collaboration with the state regional planning office. A simple system of signs made of natural coloured aluminium was developed, as tests had shown that this material and colour best remained visible in poor weather. In contrast to trails based on specific themes, the focus here was on providing orientation aid. In the intervening period around 20 000 signs have been erected at 6800 different locations. The guidance system on the Schlossberg trail augments the overall route guidance system and provides information on the newly developed “fitness track”. The goal was to provide an unobtrusive guidance system appropriate to a woodland trail – in the form of simple recurring accents in the forest. The design concept of Atelier Andrea Gassner made use of natural colours and materials. Deliberately, only parts of the sanded steel angles and steel tubes were sealed with a clear varnish. The protection against corrosion protection together with the natural oxidation of the untreated areas of steel generated two different colours in a single material. The grey steel takes up the colour of the gravel paths, the rock, and the other shades of grey in nature. The combination of materialisation, formal idiom and the neutral, easily legible lettering provides the information required, while avoiding being a disruptive element in the natural setting. The typography is based on the Corporate typeface used by Atelier Gassner in 2010 for the revitalised public appearance of the City of Bregenz. The graphics at the individual stations that provide orientation and offer illustrations are timeless, designed to appeal playfully to a broad target group (children, families, sports enthusiasts).

Architecture means, above all, designing and giving form. The intention was that the client’s “core product” should not occupy the foreground of his own public profile too assertively. Atelier Andrea Gassner has been working for years for the well-known Zurich architect Roger Boltshauser. The concern is graphic design using the language of modern architecture. Clarity of form, unobtrusiveness and aesthetic appropriateness are the focus of the design, Entirely in the sense of German industrial designer Dieter Rams “less and more”. In a dynamically growing process printed material, business stationery, books and digital communication media are created for the architecture practice and partner businesses. Interaction and scalability are primary design means In the new media. Distance and approach as well as entry shape our perception of architecture. These dynamics provided the guideline for the new web design. Visitors are met by a wall of images; they come closer and enter the individual projects. The respective contents open up gradually with the self-scaling image grid. Searching and finding becomes a kind of virtual excursion to the project world of this successful Zurich team of architects.

In accordance with the purpose for which it was founded the DBU (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt/German Federal Environmental Foundation) subsidises innovative, environmentally conscious, model building projects. The concept for the subsidies also includes financing scientific studies of the respective projects and disseminating these in quality book form. Atelier Gassner was commissioned to devise a concept for an edition consisting of several volumes. The first publication documents the new building for Schmuttertal Gymnasium (high-school): here innovative educational ideas and a participative approach to planning produce unusual spatial systems, ambitious ecological goals direct the construction, and functionality and inspiration shape the architecture. Client and subsidy provider, users and planners, experts for building law and technical services document the creation of this building, augmented by plans and photographs. The editions were deliberately published in German, and the search for a name led to the striking and yet self-explanatory term “Bauband” (literally “building volume”). The challenge was how best to describe and depict complex contents so that they are clearly legible and can be quickly understood. At the same time this book was not intended to be a standard illustrated architectural volume nor a dry treatise with a preponderance of text. Using the tools provided by micro and macro typographical design and making considerable demands on editorial photography the narrative requirements could be successfully met. The plans and diagrams, which were produced especially for this book, provide in-depth information. Through the format alone, the easy to open “Swiss brochure” and the stable card binding, the book suggests a report with the character of a working folder. A colour, which differs from volume to volume, contrasts with the restrained grey that is used for the covers of all the volumes. This striking coloured framework for the book block is reflected in completely coloured pages that separate the chapters and visibly articulate the contents and, when one looks at the cut edge of the closed book, appear like inserted “floor levels”.

This not for profit association pursues the goal of developing a sensitivity for the built environment among children and young people and aims to secure a place for the culture of building in the Swiss educational curriculum. It was founded in 2008 under the name “Spacespot”. Due to its strange phonetic presence, the name Spacespot, like many trendy pseudo-Anglicisms, turned out to be short-lived. Atelier Andrea Gassner was commissioned to create a sustainable and contemporary brand. It was decided that the name for the German and French-language space should indicate what the association does and what can be found on the platform. The name was arrived at in a workshop that was held together with the heads of the association. When the idea for the name was first mentioned the group was immediately delighted with it. It arose in the context of an associative phonetic chain that started with “Archigen” and through the ending “jeunes” suddenly provided the key to a precise meaning: architecture and the art of building for young people

In designing the logotype Atelier Andrea Gassner made a simple yet highly effective intervention in the compactly set name that uses a powerful Antiqua typeface. Omitting the dots above the “i” and the “j” in the new name at the point of contact between two language cultures makes a subtle visual point. Often it is very simple distortions of familiar word images that guarantee brands that are concise and highly memorable.

The region “Walgau” and its transformation by inserting a syllable to create the adjective “genau” (precise, exact). The logo type deliberately uses lower case lettering in order to convey action, playfulness and lightness. The little green ring augments the brand, is a navigation element, an explanatory graphic symbol and much more. The website appeals to teachers and students, distributes learning units, documents results and lives from its simple functionality and interesting contents, often conveyed by means of videos and animated graphics. Today it is the moving image in particular that shapes digital, visual communication.