Boris Podrecca

1963–1968 Studied at Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in Roland Rainer’s master class. In 1982–1987 he was visiting professor at the universities of Lausanne, Paris, Venice, Philadelphia, London and Vienna and currently teaches at the universities of Harvard and Cambridge. He has been professor at Stuttgart University since 1988. In 1990 Podrecca was awarded the City of Vienna Culture Prize for Architecture and, in 1997, the Order of Merit in recognition of services to Vienna Province. In 2000 he received an honorary doctorate from Maribor University and in 2003 he won the Premio “Il Principe e l’Architetto” in Milan. The same year, Boris Podrecca was presented the Liberty Award of the President of the Republic of Slovenia.

The architect and artist has architecture studios in Vienna, Stuttgart and Venice. One particular trait of his architecture is his sense of balanced proportion between aesthetics and user friendliness in public space. His projects focus primarily on designing squares, railway stations, offices and private dwellings. He has designed the Universitätsplatz in Salzburg and the Piazza Tartini in Piran, among others. He has also designed squares in Vienna, Cormons, Verona, Motta di Livenza and Split. He also won the competition for redesigning the “rive” (bank) in Trieste, where he spent part of his youth, and his redesign concept was also showcased at the Venice Biennale.

In 2004 a sculpture by Podrecca was presented at the EU&YOU project curated by Peter Weibel. His object EU Information Pavilion is on show at Vienna’s Südbahnhof. The sculpture, that despite its name “Info Pavilion” does not provide any kind of information, neither spoken, nor written, is intended to speak for itself. It displays the silhouette of Austria with its four neighbouring countries that joined the EU in 2004 (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia), with the borders highlighted in the national colours of the respective country. The map detail also extends into the vertical, winding upwards like a stele and spreading like a protective ceiling. Steps invite the visitor to enter the art work, for Podrecca’s sculpture is intended to serve as a platform for communication and discussion. It is a symbol of the coexistence of nations, economically, culturally and socially. The twist can also be read as a change in the way people think, for in future rivalry, the question of winners and losers or East and West are to dwindle in importance.

The renowned architect and artist is internationally sought-after and has exhibited in Paris, San Francisco, Budapest, London, Bolzano and Madrid, among other places. He took part in the Venice Biennale in 1980 and 1992. In 2003 he exhibited at the Academy Of Science and Arts in Belgrade.