The Bad Gastein Congress Center is located in the center of the Bad Gastein community in the St. Johann im Pongau district in the State of Salzburg. The congress center, completed in 1974, has been unused since 2007. The congress house planned by Salzburg architect Gerhard Garstenauer is an imposing concrete building from the 1970s in the town center, which was built in place of the old walkway. In 1975, Gerhard Garstenauer received the first architectural award from the State of Salzburg for this building. The operation for congresses and events was discontinued in January 2007, and the rental contracts of some business premises were terminated. The building belongs to the Viennese investor Philippe Duval, who took it over from his father Franz Duval in 2013. Currently (2016) signs from AHB GmbH allow access to the outside areas, and a Gasteins Historic City GmbH is showing a plan for a cable car station on the building.
The congress house planned by Salzburg architect Gerhard
Garstenauer is an imposing concrete building in the style of
brutalism from the 1970s in the town center, which was built in
place of the old walkway. In 1975, Gerhard Garstenauer received the
first architectural award from the State of Salzburg for this
building. The operation for congresses and events was discontinued
in January 2007, and the rental contracts of some business premises
were terminated.
The building belongs to the Viennese
investor Philippe Duval, who took it over from his father Franz
Duval in 2013. Currently (2016) signs from AHB GmbH allow access to
the outside areas, and a Gasteins Historic City GmbH is showing a
plan for a cable car station on the building.
Damp cold, a lot of mold, moss and lichen, a leaky attic, water-based
paints on several floors, in places even stalactites on concrete beams.
That is the current situation. How times have changed: 38 years ago
there was also the legendary appearance of the American multi-talent
Liza Minelli and a big band from overseas in the then glamorous Bad
Gasteiner Kongresshaus - at the New Year's Eve gala on December 31,
1982. This cool show from back then The young actress, jazz singer and
daughter of superstar Judy Garland was broadcast by television stations
in many countries.
Damp cold for many years
Not long ago,
insiders in Gastein first saw photos that document the structural
decline in the house, which has been closed since 2007. The old
furnishings from the good times were still there and grew more moldy
from year to year.
Discussions about dump in front of the house
Two years ago, the Viennese real estate developer Philippe Duval had the
carpets, solid wooden partition walls and furniture torn out and
properly disposed of. Previously, this garbage dump on the bottom floor
caused heated discussions among the Gastein population.
Between
optimism, new shores and skepticism
After the death of his father,
Philippe Duval is now the owner of the property that previously belonged
to the Congress Society of the Bad Gastein community. The Viennese now
want to push ahead with the general renovation that has been necessary
for decades. He confirmed this to us by phone a few days ago on request.
So far, Duval has not wanted to comment on this in front of an ORF
Salzburg TV camera.
And the skeptics are no less after all these
years. Businesses and tourism professionals from Gastein are also
wondering whether the huge building could ever be operated profitably
again. Ronny Katsch heads the booking center for renters of holiday
apartments and private rooms in Bad Gastein. He welcomes the latest
renovation projects east of the waterfall at the Hotel Straubinger and
would be "happy as a snow king if a sustainable future could be in sight
for the desolate congress center."
As a neighbor of the property,
Katsch worked out various options with construction experts on its own
initiative. He sees no reason for joyful dances: “You just have to look
at the huge cubature. The heating costs alone, the technology costs.
After the complete renovation, you will have to invest millions in your
hand as an investment volume. This also exceeds the limits in terms of
management. "
Owner favors special cable car station
Philippe
Duval doesn't want to be put off. The owner also relies on civil
engineers and structural engineers. They certify that the extremely
solid concrete framework has an excellent construction quality and an
almost indestructible structure. There are also architecture and art
connoisseurs who want to see a groundbreaking design saved. Duval has
long had a modern old town center for Bad Gastein in mind. With its own
brand name: Gasteins Historic City. The manager also operates his own
YouTube channel and website.
At its core, the Viennese are
interested in a modern cable car station on the former congress center.
The town center would then be perfectly connected with the Graukogel
chair lift and the cable car to the Stubnerkogel on the other side of
the valley, says Duval. On his website he also names the head of the
Gasteiner Bergbahnen as a supporter.
Cable car manager sees plans
critically
When asked about Philippe Duval, CEO Franz Schafflinger
from Bergbahnen said that there was a phone call some time ago. However,
he would not consider himself a supporter of the previously known plans,
according to the senior manager: “The first topic would be the
profitability of such connections. A pure feeder train without repeated
trips during the day and only with the guests who live in the center of
Bad Gastein, such a train could not be financed profitably. "
Schafflinger adds that the route of the cable cars is also difficult
because the routes could come too close to some hotel buildings: "That
would cause problems with the construction and fire police."
Garstenauer's work belongs to "brutalism"
And it could also be a
problem with monument protection. The former congress house occupies a
globally unique place next to the waterfall and has the captivating
design of the Salzburg architect and designer Gerhard Garstenauer. It is
- and so far only few people know that - already under the protection of
monuments by the Republic of Austria.
The planner died in 2016 at the age of 92. In addition to solid
concrete, he also loved local wood and had it built in large quantities
inside the Bad Gastein project - with the participation of local
carpenters and joiners. In domestic and international specialist
circles, Garstenauer is a prominent representative of "brutalism", a
design trend of the 1960s and 70s. It goes back to the French architect
Le Corbusier (1887-1965), who remains an icon of the 20th century for
many modernists. “Brutalism” can be derived from: “béton brut”, raw
concrete or exposed concrete in French.
Legal dispute about
monument protection
During our research, the responsible federal
authority in Salzburg learned that the house owner Duval had challenged
the monument protection that had been in place for some time. This
procedure is still ongoing and will only be finally decided. Therefore,
she does not want and should not say anything about it, emphasizes
Salzburg's state curator Eva Hody from the Federal Monuments Office:
“The congress center is a difficult topic, especially for the Bad
Gastein community, because it is a large building in the center of the
village. And you cannot dispose of its future. It is a large building
volume with a strong architectural language. And how the community can
deal with it in its center is currently completely open, ”says Hody.
Now, not only in Gastein, many are waiting eagerly to see whether
the Federal Administrative Court will lift the state monument protection
or not. The future of the building also depends on this.
Regardless of these debates, architecture and culture fans do not see
this future as a cable car station.
Ideas asked: What would
really be in it?
Avant-garde dreams range from an internationally
influential and well-stocked art museum to a campus for a completely new
type of university - in combination with the neighboring House of
Austria with its classical architecture. With a heat exchanger heating
of the ensemble with recycled Gastein thermal water from the spa houses.
This university could devote itself to the regional development of
recreational areas worldwide, ecological tourism and global skiing and
mountain sports with its numerous varieties, according to a detail from
the pool of ideas. There are universities with a similarly exciting
landscape in Boulder in the Rocky Mountains not far from Denver (US
state Colorado) or in Bozeman (Montana).