Graz UNESCO City of Design - Application
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Graz
Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
UNESCO
City of Design
ApplicationIndex Index
Foreword / 04 Literature from Graz / 47
Interview with mayor Siegfried Nagl and Christian Buchmann, Architecture in Graz / 48
holder of the business, innovation and finance portfolio / 06 Haus der Architektur (“House of Architecture”) / 49
Camera Austria / 49
01
Graz as “City of Design”
Jazz – with an academic blessing / 50
Art and the public / 51
Graz 2003 – Cultural Capital of Europe / 52
“Serial innovation” / 10
Key project “City of Design” / 10
En route to the knowledge-based society / 10
05
Education and training
Creativity – as we see it /11
Joanneum UAS / 54
02
The city of Graz
Industrial design / 55
Exhibition and museum design / 55
Information design / 56
Graz University of Music and Performing Arts / 57
In figures / 12 Graz Technical University / 57
Population, employment, economy / 13 Karl Franzens University / 58
Analysis of potential / 15 Medical University / 59
Business and design / 17 Campus 02 – the business UAS / 59
Competence centres, clusters and networks / 18 HTBLVA Graz Ortwein School / 60
Creative Industries Styria / 22 Styrian Vocational School (LBS Graz 7) / 60
Key businesses and global players / 23 Vocational training / 60
Tourism / 24
UNESCO World Heritage Site / 25
Graz – art and culture / 26
Culture for children / 28
06
Outlook for the future
Lifestyle and savoir vivre / 28
Cultural diversity, integration and human rights / 29 Graz as a member of the Creative Cities network/ 62
The Reininghaus project / 64
03
Design in Graz
Current architecture / 65
Infrastructure / 66
Design and public space / 66
Design in all areas of life / 66
Events and festivals / 35 Active design networking / 67
assembly / 35 BETA Young Creative Lab / 68
Design Month / 36 Designers in Residence / 69
Film, theatre, jazz and all that / 38 FashionLab / 69
Design in figures / 40 Design Forum Styria / 70
Educational co-operation / 71
04
Milestones – from the 1960s 07
to European Capital of Culture, 2003 Graz with links
Forum Stadtpark / 44 Service / 72
steirischer herbst / 46Foreword Page 4 Application Foreword Page 5 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
Foreword
Graz – who would have guessed? was the slogan with The present application documentation provides as com-
which Graz competed for one of the biggest projects in the prehensive and complete a picture of the city of Graz as
city’s 850-year history – the right to host the European possible. It is a picture that is not limited to the strengths
Capital of Culture event for 2003. It was a major project, of the city as a tourist venue. It is an image that also aims
and a thoroughly successful one. In 2003, Graz acquired to bring out things lying beneath the surface; and not least
an international stage on which the benefits and charac- an image that conveys the dynamism and go-getting mo-
teristics of the city could be put across clearly. Like any mentum of the city in general and the creative scene in
city of comparable size, Graz is not of course a homoge- particular.
neous entity but the sum of widely differing parts. It’s just This application goes back to an idea and initiative of
the same with the 290,000 or so people who live and work Graz architect Marion Wicher and advertising entrepre-
in Graz. Not all of them are local Grazers. Many of them neur Heimo Lercher. Graz’s application for City of Design
come from neighbouring countries of former Yugoslavia, status enjoys widespread support from the creative scene
from Kosovo, Turkey, Hungary, Russia, Germany and ma- and the relevant municipal and state politicians and of-
ny other countries of the world. These days, around 160 na- ficials. When the application documents were being draft-
tions from round the globe are represented in Graz. What ed, conversations with representatives from politics were
links them all is the conscious decision to live in Graz and as much on the agenda as numerous detailed discussions
the practical opportunities the city offers. with those directly involved in Graz’s creative economy.
That requires certain qualities and facilities that a city A special format was worked out – “think tank conversa-
can offer its (new) inhabitants. “Openness”, “friendliness”, tions”, the point of which is - and will remain in future –
“good training institutions”, “a good cultural climate” are to keep people informed about the project and to filter out
some of the keywords you hear if you tune in to what peo- what the creative scene expects of the application. Over
ple say. They allude directly to the strengths of this city: 100 representatives actively took up the opportunity for a
personal relationships, small units, good networking – in frank discussion – their remarks, suggestions and points
short, qualities that reflect in Graz what the creative econ- of criticism provided essential markers for compiling the
omy demands all around the globe: personal relationships, application documentation. The lively participation how-
small units, good networking. ever shows one thing above all: Graz’s creative economy is
Graz is a city of resources, a design city “avant la lettre”. wholeheartedly behind the project and is ready to support
Design plays a part in the city that the city itself is not and make a substantial contribution to the great City of
yet fully aware of – the relevant institutions are too recent. Design project. We are most grateful to everyone involved.
They include the Joanneum UAS, whose courses in in-
dustrial design and information design plus consolidation
courses in museum design and media & interaction design Eberhard Schrempf,
provide training at the highest international level. But Application Manager and CEO of
design is something that takes many forms in Graz: Creative Industries Styria GmbH
not just the occasionally spectacular architectural struc-
tures of recent years and decades, but the universally
perceptible desire to fashion things and the energy to make
the city even more attractive to live in.Siegfried Nagl Christian Buchmann Interview Page 7 Graz.
UNESCO
Mayor of Graz Styrian government’s holder City of Design
of the business, innovation
and finance portfolio
Graz
applies
for
“City of
Design”
Graz mayor Siegfried Nagl and Christian
Buchmann, the Styrian government’s holder
of the business, innovation and finance
portfolio, on Graz, its opportunities and its
potential.
Mr Mayor, Mr Buchmann, why should Graz become a City of
Design?
Siegfried Nagl: Graz meets the conditions. The city has a
young, vital creative scene whose achievements have be-
come increasingly firmly anchored in public awareness ...
Christian Buchmann: … and in Graz and Styria the ambient
conditions are also right. The Styrian government has de-
fined the creative economy as one of our strengths, so as to
provide official support for the creative scene. That’s after
all also one of the chief reasons why Creative Industries
Styria GmbH was set up – to channel that creative energy
and make it more visible to outsiders.
With regard to visibility, Graz reached a wide public with the
Cultural Capital year. Can that experience be used now for the
City of Design project?
Buchmann: Absolutely. And not just on an administrative
and operative level but also in terms of substance. Graz
2003 helped to make people open-minded, and to generate a
receptive cultural climate in the city and Styria generally.Interview Page 8 Application Interview Page 9 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
Nagl: Though we should add that this receptive climate generally are capable of. Even in a nationwide compar-
has always been a feature of the city. Institutions such ison, Styria again comes out well. When the Austrian
as the steirischer herbst festival, Forum Stadtpark and “competence centres” were allocated, Styria did better
more recently the Elevate and Spring festivals show that than any other federal state. With a total of seven clus-
a lot can be done in Graz that would be more difficult ters and networks, Styria has a very solid basis for de-
elsewhere. Putting ideas into practice is definitely one of veloping existing expertise still further. That applies to
Graz’s strengths. industrial high-tech businesses as much as to the tradi-
tional small and medium-sized companies in industrial
Ideas put into practice are called innovations. Is the Graz con- arts and crafts or local supply.
urbation fertile soil for innovative ideas?
What are your wishes for the future of Graz and the Graz conur-
Buchmann: Yes. We are definitely a region of innovators. bation?
The outstanding achievements of the Graz area in research
and development and the innovative enterprise our com- Nagl: Wishes are not the concern of politics. Our job is to
panies display bear that out. In fact, our whole econom- shape living and working conditions to ensure the maxi-
ic strategy is predicated on it. We have to stimulate the mum possible personal development. Achieving that is the
creativity of companies – having ideas on paper is nice, but objective we set ourselves. Of course, if you had asked me
only in the market do they really amount to anything. twenty years ago, I might perhaps have said, it would be
nice if we could further consolidate the practical diversity
What do creative minds from all disciplines find when they come of life and co-existence in our city.
to Graz?
… and today Graz is both a “City of Human Rights” and a
Nagl: In the first place, outstanding educational institu- UNESCO World Heritage site …
tions. Graz has four universities and two colleges of ap-
plied science, whose fame extends far beyond the city Nagl: Yes. Things are heading in the right direction. City of
boundaries. In addition, they find an urban environment Design status is an important step for Graz in an ongoing
with a high feel-good factor. Quality of life is in this res- development that began with the mood of radical change in
pect a concept that more than applies to Graz. the 1960s, continued with Graz 2003 – Cultural Capital of
Europe and now culminates in the City of Design project.
Is that enough to be a City of Design? After all, our immediate
partners in the network of creative cities would be metropolises Buchmann: There are many things I’d wish for, but what
such as Berlin, Montreal or Buenos Aires. counts is what can actually be achieved. And here we are
in the process of raising Styria and the Graz region’s pro-
Nagl: Yes, that’s precisely what motivates us as well. We file. Creating a framework for that is our declared objective.
know that, in terms of training and creative potential, we Actually making something of it is down to business. But
can hold our own very well. But what is more important the word “wishes” carries a touch of uncertainty about it.
is that, in Graz, we are in the happy situation of all pul- And one thing I am definitely not uncertain about – that our
ling together. That was already the case with the Cultu- people and entrepreneurs here will ever run out of ideas!
ral Capital year, and it is even more so now with the City
of Design. There is a wide consensus on the scene about Thank you for the conversation.
the importance and significance of this project. And in
politics, too. The application was included in the official
government agreement in spring 2008.
Buchmann: I don’t think we should take our bearings
from the big names but focus on what the city and Styria01_Graz as City of Design Page 10 Application 01_Graz as City of Design Page 11 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
Graz as tries with clearly defined careers and stepping stones, the
present-day working reality is governed by a host of new
“City of Design”
factors: classic business and entrepreneurial forms of orga-
nisation are splitting up, operational procedures are chang-
ing under the influence of the electronic media, and net-
works and clusters are replacing clearly defined hierarchies
and structures. Behind this is a profound social change that
is also reflected in the economy. The industrial society is giv-
ing way to a knowledge-based society, and a wide range
of players with all sorts of backgrounds are involved in it.
Industrial designers are also modern brain-workers just
“Serial innovation” like “creative engineers”, who combine maximum techni-
cal expertise with unconventional approaches to solutions
The government of Styria has already identified the creative and thus create products and services that make people’s
economy as a strategic strength of the Styrian economy. lives more pleasant, easier or simply just nicer.
“Serial innovation” is the guiding principle. For the creative
industries that means mainly developing and extending the
creative potential in Styria. The aim is to network the Sty- Creativity – as we see it
rian creative economy with industry, small businesses and
services so as to create a brand for Styria. That involves The concept of creativity goes back to Latin “creare”, which
promoting awareness of design and creativity as such, par- means approximately “create from scratch, generate, pro-
ticularly anything that makes them successful in busines duce”. But “creare” also means “to choose”. In today’s no-
and economically exploitable. It is not only the creative eco- tion of creativity, both aspects recur – creative power and
nomy and creative people that benefit from creative input energy choosing a path of their own. Unusual and uncon-
but everyone in the region. ventional solutions are accordingly a firm component of
what we mean by creativity.
“City of Design” – a key project for the A further inherent feature of the knowledge-based soci-
new Graz city government ety is the dynamism of its processes and operations. That
is ultimately one of the reasons for the great attractive-
Parallel to the initiative on the part of the Styrian govern- ness of the creative economy. There’s a particular allure in
ment, the economic strategy of the City of Graz also aims to the constant alternation between finding and inventing,
promote the creative economy. Graz has enormous creative and the permanent definition and redefinition of one’s own
potential, with every eighth job in the city coming from the and others’ points of view. “Creativity” seen as a capacity
creative sector. Graz’s application for City of Design status to identify new and innovative market potential and derive
was consequently also included in the government pro- ideas for implementation from it, loses its purely naïve, ca-
gramme of March 2008 in order to further boost the status sual connotation in this context and becomes a competitive
of creativity and the creative economy. factor.
Creativity is a permanent process that generates new
En route to the knowledge-based society things and thereby produces solutions that in their ap-
proach, structure, and potential are unique. Creativity can
Behind the boom in the creative economy there lies a change only develop properly in a climate of openness and accep-
of social and economic paradigms. For more than a decade, tance, and requires an environment that is ready to take on
the development of the economy has manifested a rare board creative solutions and new ways that diverge from
dynamism. Where earlier there were homogeneous indus- the beaten track.01_Graz as City of Design | 02_The city of Graz Page 12 Application 02_The city of Graz Page 13 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
That applies also to the concept of design, which we inter- Number employed in the creative economy
pret very broadly and open[-ended]ly in these documents, in the Graz conurbation (2001): 24,810**
but which targets a clear objective – that of making life Proportion of total in employment: 12.5 percent**
more pleasant for the people of a city or region. Over and Gross added value: 1.5 bn euros**
beyond mere packaging, the emphasis in the foreground Share of total added value: 14 percent**
is on developing and shaping – products, services and the
urban environment itself. All of them acquire added-value * As at: January 2009
through design, which in turn is directly beneficial to the ** Source: Capability analysis of the creative economy in the Graz area, 2006
city and its inhabitants.
2006 2007
The city of Graz
Tourism – no.
738,295 779,618
of visitor nights
New business startups 1,013 1,015
In figures Places of employment 8,299 8,367
Area: 127.58 sq. km (49.36 sq. m.) Median income in € 2,100 2,168
40 percent of it green space
Altitude: 353 m height above sea level (1,158 feet) Average income in € 2,233 2,307
Geographic co-ordinates: 47.05º N, 15.22º E
Inhabitants: 291,574*
Permanent residents: 255,354*
Women: 149,863 (51.39 percent)*
Men: 141,711 (48.6 percent)*
Under 19s: 49,019 (16.81 percent)*
20-39 year-olds: 103,128 (35.36 percent)*
40-60 year-olds: 77,683 (26.64 percent)* Population, employment, economy
Over 60s: 61,744 (21.17 percent)*
Population density: 2,001 inhabitants per sq. km In the economic development of a region, towns enjoy a
particular status, i.e. they are a yardstick for the attrac-
(772 inhabitants per sq.m.)
tiveness of a location. It is no different with Graz. Graz
functions as a regional and supra-regional centre for the
Nationalities: 160
neighbouring new EU countries (Slovenia, Hungary), Cro-
Museums: 20 atia and the entire Balkan region, and exerts wide regional
Galleries: 24 appeal. This can be directly correlated with the continuing
Design shops: 89 steady rise in Graz’s population: between 2002 and 2006 a
Festivals: 20 total of 18,400 new residents was registered in the Graz
Universities and colleges of applied science: 6 urban area. The trend is still rising. This makes Graz the02_The city of Graz Page 14 Application 02_The city of Graz Page 15 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
city with the highest population growth in Austria after Analysis of potential
the federal capital of Vienna.
As the above statistics provide no clear information about
The rise in the population of Graz is directly connected with the creative economy in particular – not least because the
the rise in employment figures. The urban labour market creative economy is represented in virtually all the in-
in Graz comprises a strong services and manufacturing dustries mentioned above – the Information and Consult-
sector plus high employment in technologically based in- ing branch of the Styrian Chamber of Commerce com-
dustries. Although the proportion of small and medium- missioned a capability analysis of the creative economy
sized businesses in Graz is very high, more than half those in the Graz area. Following a scheme devised by futuro-
employed in Graz (81,936 people) work in companies with logist Matthias Horx and carried out by Joanneum Re-
over 250 employees. Small and very small businesses (1-9 search, a figure of 24,810 was put on the number of people
employees) employ 21,955 people, and 58,615 people are employed in the creative economy in Graz and the im-
employed in classic small and medium-sized businesses. mediate vicinity in 2001, which corresponded to 12.5% of
the total employed.
The neighbouring economic areas of south-east Europe are
a good market for the Graz economy. Active networking The industries of the creative economy produced 1.5 bil-
with companies and public institutions in comparable re- lion euros in gross added value, which corresponds to
gions – especially in the Graz–Ljubljana/Maribor–Zagreb 14% of total added value. For comparison, that figure in
triangle – offers opportunities for co-operation with cities Berlin is 11%. Over the whole of Styria, there are 40,000
of similar size that are moreover within easy reach. In ad- jobs in the creative economy, and the trend is still rising.
dition, the economy in Croatia and especially in Slovenia The focus of the creative economy in and around Graz
has consolidated in recent years. The Slovene central re- is on business-related services, i.e. creative people in the
gion (Ljubljana and its hinterland) has for example already greater Graz area work predominantly for other parts of
reached economic parity with Styria. the Graz economy.
According to an economic report by the City of Graz, in In order to obtain quantitative and qualitative information
2006 the central area of Graz registered 14,836 commer- about the creative economy in Graz, the study involved te-
cial employers, i.e. businesses with at least one employee. lephoning entrepreneurs and interviewing focus groups
Most jobs are in manufacturing (33,925), which is dominat- with selected people from various areas (traditional indus-
ed particularly by the motor industry, followed by public try; health care; the arts, music; film; design; universities
administration (25,404), trade (21,857) and business ser- and colleges of applied sciences). This was not only to es-
vices (20,871). That means that around 3/5ths of the people tablish a boundary between creative and non-creative but
working in the central area of Graz hold jobs in one of these also to establish the degree of creativity in a product or
four industries. service. The creativity of a business depends on how far
and how many of the criteria are partly or wholly met.
The greater Graz area is particularly important in the
founding of new businesses: in 2006, over 41% of all new
businesses were founded in the city of Graz or the central The following characteristic features of creative
Graz area – a tendency that has strengthened year by year output were assumed:
from 2001. It follows therefore that the new business ratio,
i.e. the number of new businesses per 1000 inhabitants, is • Creative products and services are not standardised or
very high in Graz – higher in fact than the values register- precisely predefined.
ed in most other Austrian towns and cities with the excep- • Modular systems, or a selection of pre-specified vari-
tion of Vienna. ants that allow limited adjustments according to clients’02_The city of Graz Page 16 Application 02_The city of Graz Page 17 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
requests, constitute the simplest form of a creative prod Business and design
uct or creative service.
• Creativity (also) means finding completely free and in- R & D and high-tech industries have a broad base in
novatively designed solutions for every client. the economy of the Graz conurbation. There has been a
• Creative products and services are so complex that it strong symbiosis between industry and design. That is
is often not possible to determine the exact end result principally because, despite its relatively small size, the
in advance. city is home to a wealth of internationally distinguished
companies, some of which are even world-market leaders
in their fields.
The most important results of the survey were In order to bring business closer to people, the “Made
as follows: in Styria business experience” scheme was launched in
2009. The intention is to make Styrian businesses acces-
• The creative economy is dominated by small and very sible to everyone, and in addition bring business and de-
small businesses. sign even closer together. Styrian information designers
• Two thirds of all businesses with high creative intensi- are being networked with large and medium-sized com-
ty belong to the business services sector. But manufac- panies so as to jointly develop business tours providing
turers of capital goods also account for a considerable direct experience with the businesses concerned. This
proportion of businesses with high creative intensity, will raise their public profile and give the population
confirming therewith that creative services also occupy firsthand information.
an important place in many industrial businesses. An outstanding Styrian control operations firm is AVL
• In 14% of the businesses surveyed, at least a proportion List GmbH, which is one of the largest developers of drive
(in 6% of them, more than half of the permanent work- systems and internal combustion engines worldwide.
force) worked exclusively creatively. Andritz AG produces plants for the paper, cellulose and
• The number of people working creatively will continue steel industry sold throughout the world, and Anton Paar
to increase. Around a third of the businesses are plan- GmbH develops high-quality measurement and analyti-
ning to take on extra staff in this field. cal devices for industry and research. At the Magna Steyr
• With respect to forms of work and working conditions, works, international car models such as the Chrysler Voy-
Graz constitutes a possible model for a future economy: ager and BMW X3 are produced. The motor industry is
flexibility and mobility instead of rigid organisational thus one of Graz’s strengths, and makes it an international
forms, hierarchies and routines. centre of the industry. For this reason, the highly success-
ful automobile cluster ACStyria was set up. It harnesses
Traditional industrial businesses in Graz are not only cli- the strengths of companies working in vehicle construc-
ents of creative services, but often provide services them- tion, and enhances value-creation on-site.
selves. In the field of automation, information technology However, Graz is also a centre in the field of human and
and the motor industry, for example, creative products are biotechnology and high-tech industry. Graz is for example
developed that are world-beaters. To remain competitive the worldwide R&D and production centre for Roche Dia-
in future as well, it will be increasingly important to get gnostics blood gas and electrolytic analysis systems. Aus-
ahead of the crowd by means of creative output in product tria Microsystems AG has its base south of Graz. It is one
design or the manufacture of tailor-made products, and to of the leading companies worldwide in the development
stand out through uniqueness. And in this respect Graz and production of highly integrated analogue circuits.
has a good basis that can be creatively developed. In the field of design, the Graz company Xenon Architec-
tural Lighting is an internationally reputable provider of
innovative, high-quality lighting, lighting systems and
light control systems. The firm co-operates with leading
architects and designers in the development of integrated
architectural lighting solutions.02_The city of Graz Page 18 Application 02_The city of Graz Page 19 Graz.
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City of Design
Uniopt company sells 1 million optical frames and pairs neering – which focuses on noise reduction – is an inc-
of sunglasses annually, and is represented in 34 countries reasingly important field of research in the automobile
worldwide. The collection includes brands such as Robert industry. AVL List has developed a system that, even at
la Roche, Daniel Hechter and Ruud van Dyke. the simulation phase, already resembles the later desired
target sound. This allows effective hardware modifica-
tions to be defined at an early development stage. The 3rd
Competence centres, clusters and networks Virtual Vehicle Symposium in Graz in 2010 once again
highlighted Graz as a significant hub of technology. In-
In 1997, the Austrian Federal government decided to set ternational experts from all fields of vehicle development
up expertise centres to boost industrial locations. When discuss current issues to do with hybrid or electric drives
the locations were selected, Graz and Styria managed and the integration of engine construction, electronics
to secure an above-average number of expertise cen- and software.
tres. Currently there are 15 expertise centres located in Around 44,000 people work in the car industry or asso-
Styria, including the one for knowledge-based applica- ciated fields in Styria. The industry’s network is called
tions and systems at the Technical University of Graz, the AutoCluster Styria, or ACstyria for short, the most
the one for interactive e-business – EVOLARIS, the ABC successful development project.
Austrian Bioenergy Centre expertise centre, plus the Ap-
plied Biocatalysis expertise centre in Graz and the timber
expertise network. Bio-nanotechnology
Bundling local and regional energies into clusters is an
important factor in the success of Graz and Styria as in- The aim of BioNanoNet GmbH is to support innovative
dustrial locations. A total of four clusters – the AC Styria research in the field of pharmaceutical research, nano-
motor industry cluster, the timber cluster, the human tech- medicine and nanotoxicology. The expertise of leading
nology cluster and the materials cluster – have developed companies and university/non-university research in-
around the strengths of the Styrian economy. In addition, stitutions are brought together and employed to develop
there are the Eco World Styria networks (environmental transdisciplinary research projects. BioNanoNet develops
technology), Techfortaste, NanoNet Styria and Creative and coordinates interdisciplinary research and commis-
Industries Styria, a network organisation set up in 2007 sioned schemes such as for example the joint Nano-Health
specially for the creative economy. research project (www.nano-health.at). One initiative of
BioNanoNet is the European Centre for Nanotoxicology
(www.EURO-NanoTox.at), a national contact point with
AutoCluster Styria (ACstyria) international prominence on the subject of nanotoxico-
logy. Within EURO-Nanotox, standardised methods are
Seats in Saabs, valves in Audi engines, particle filters in offered to industry and science for evaluating the human
KIA exhausts and microchips in Jaguars – cars with Sty- toxicology of nano-structured materials.
rian-made parts are on the road throughout the world.
No fewer than 180 companies are at work in Styria as
suppliers of the car industry. The largest of these oper- ECO WORLD STYRIA
ations, Magna, is also a carmaker. With a production
capacity of 250,000 vehicles per annum, models such as “Green technologies from Europe’s Green Valley Styria”
Jeep, Mercedes, Chrysler, Aston Martin and BMW roll is the Styrian answer to the international shortage of
off the conveyor belts in Graz. AVL List has been deve- energy. Companies from Styria have made themselves a
loping efficient, lean-burn and environmentally friendly name worldwide with their intelligent use of renewable
engines on its test facilities for decades, for virtually all energy sources. With ECO WORLD STYRIA, Styria has
leading carmakers in the world. A particular strength of increasingly developed into an international “green val-
AVL List is the field of sound design, since sound engi- ley” – in terms of turnover, it is one of the three largest02_The city of Graz Page 20 Application 02_The city of Graz Page 21 Graz.
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City of Design
cluster networks in Europe. Graz is home to the largest They include global group Roche, which runs an R&D
distance-heating solar heating plant in central Europe and production centre for emergency diagnostic systems
– 3,500m² of solar panelling have been installed on the in Graz.
roofs of AEVG waste management company’s buildings.
Styrian companies have developed world-leading tech-
nologies and processes in the fields of biomass exploitati- Materials Cluster Styria
on, solar energy, water power and recycling. For examp-
le, one innovation by ThermoTeam company enables the Man has used materials ever since he walked erect. Glass,
high calorific-value parts of waste to be converted into metals and synthetics mark key phases in human deve-
high-quality fuels. lopment. That still applies today – and will in future. As
a manufacturing strength of Styria, the Materials Clus-
ter covers the whole range of the materials-manufactur-
Timber Cluster ing, refining and processing industries, service-centres
and research institutions in universities, and a total of
With more than 60 % woodlands, Styria has the largest six competence centres. The range thus spans R&D, via
amount of forest in Austria. Timber is therefore a vi- manufacturers of basic materials, to users and opera-
tal economic engine and employer. Around 55,000 peo- tors across all subgroups of material, from metals via
ple work for more than 5,000 businesses in the Styrian synthetics, ceramics and glass to construction materials.
timber and forestry industry. With competences ranging Thanks to the outstanding co-operation between science
from felling via processing to end products such as floo- and industry, the materials cluster provides thousands of
ring, windows, furniture, fuel, houses or paper, Styrian jobs and gives Styria an unbeatable international compe-
companies are among global leaders in terms of exper- titive advantage.
tise, and a model for many other countries. That is why,
every year, 30 - 50 delegations come to visit the Green
Valley to pick up ideas and tips from Styrian companies Foodstuffs Technology Cluster
and other experts. Thanks to continuous research and
development, timber as a construction and working ma- When Queen Elizabeth II fancies something sweet, she
terial is constantly being developed in many fields. The may reach for a handmade chocolate from Styria. Along
limits of what can be done with it are far from being re- with the Sultan of Brunei and other distinguished con-
ached! noisseurs, the House of Windsor is one of many regular
customers of an east Styrian chocolate manufacturer.
Functional drinks made from centuries-old herbal re-
Human Technology Cluster cipes are also made in Styria. Other food innovations
include: a process for treating lactose so as to make
Swallowing paper instead of pills will soon be reality, if milk products suitable for everyone; or measuring ap-
the Research Centre Pharmaceutical Engineering (RC- pliances used by the largest drinks manufacturers in
PE) in Graz has anything to do with it. The excipients the world to check alcohol, sugar and CO2 content of
of a wide range of medicines are printed on edible paper drinks before bottling.
with a printer. The way things are going, the medicines In Styria, food design means optimising local resources
of the future will consist of doses measured to individual in the best way possible. The foods nature has provided
needs, and just a piece of paper to chew instead of several freely, the Styrian foodstuffs industry carefully proces-
different pills. This prevents overdosing and interaction ses, shapes and sells internationally in an environmen-
effects. Research centres and schemes such as RCOE, Ap- tally and resource-efficient way. Styrian pumpkin-seed
plied Biocatalysis and even Graz Medical University’s bio oil and Styrian wine for example are found in gourmet
bank have put Styria on the international human-tech kitchens worldwide. Along with the prudent handling of
map. The cluster networks more than 120 businesses. foodstuffs and semi-luxury foods, Graz is also a source of02_The city of Graz Page 22 Application 02_The city of Graz Page 23 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
new ideas in packaging technology. As a packaging cen- Key businesses and global players
tre, Graz specialises in biogenic packaging. This includes
compostable bio-nets for vegetables of all kinds and one- Research and development as well as high-tech industries
way bio-packs made of potato starch. are particularly important in the greater Graz economy.
Industry and design have entered into a special symbiosis
here. That is mainly because, despite its relatively small
Nanotechnology size, the city is home to a wealth of internationally distin-
guished companies, some of whom are global market lead-
Most innovations are obvious if they change our every- ers in their field. One of the outstanding examples is AVL
day life. However, many innovations change our everyday List, which is worldwide one of the largest developers of
lives and yet remain invisible to most people. One field of drive systems and internal combustion engines. Andritz
research that is visible only to a handful of experts is na- AG produces plants for the world’s paper, cellulose and
notechnology, a recent strength of the Styrian economy. steel industries, and Anton Paar GmbH develops high-
Nanotechnology is all about dimensions below 1/10,000th quality measuring and analysis equipment for industry
of a millimetre. Nanotechnology enables the surfaces all and research. At the Magna Steyr works, international car
materials to be changed so that products made with them models such as the Chrysler Voyager or the BMW X3 are
acquire new characteristics. Greater water-resistance, produced. This area of expertise has turned Graz into an
scratch-proofing or hardness can be obtained from chem- international centre of the motor industry. That was the
ical surface design. Nanotechnology is also used in the reason for setting up the highly successful motor cluster
development of medicaments, processing technology and AC Styria, which brings together the forces active in the
the manufacture of new composite materials. motor industry and enhances value creation on site.
But Graz is also a centre in the fields of medical technolo-
Creative Industries Styria gy, biotechnology and the high-tech industry. Graz is for
example Roche Diagnostics’ worldwide R & D and produc-
Creative Industries Styria GmbH is a network company for tion centre for blood gas and electrolytic analysis systems.
the development and consolidation of the creative economy South of Graz is austriamicrosystems AG, which is num-
in Styria. Its brief is to coordinate, expand and position bered among the leading companies worldwide in the de-
the broad range of creative services in the overall context velopment and production of highly integrated analogue
of the Styrian economy. As such, its role is that of an inter- switch circuits.
mediary and contact partner, both for companies from the
creative economy and businesses interested in co-opera- In the field of design, the Graz-based company Xenon Archi-
tion and partnerships with creative companies. One of the tectural Lighting is a provider of innovative high-quality
top objectives of Creative Industries Styria is positioning lighting, light systems and light control systems for the
Styria as a hotspot for creative talents. This means setting world market. The company co-operates with leading arch-
up general conditions in the region that have the momen- itects and designers in developing integrated architectural
tum to attract creative people from Austria and Europe. lighting solutions. The company uniopt sells 1 million pairs
For that, it needs a central platform – Creative Industries of spectacles and sunglasses annually and is represented
Styria – which brings together the available resources, in 34 countries of the world. The collection includes among
sets up relationships and is available as a start-up and ser- others the brands Robert LaRoche, Daniel Hechter and
vice institution for all interested parties. Ruud van Dyke.02_The city of Graz Page 24 Application 02_The city of Graz Page 25 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
Tourism the locations are in the middle of the city and allow all vis-
itors a close encounter with urban life.
In comparison with Vienna or Salzburg, Graz is not
reckoned among the classic tourist destinations in Austria. In the field of tourism, the tourist boards of Graz and Sty-
Nonetheless, visitor numbers bear witness to a constantly ria follow a particularly innovative strategy that has made
increasing interest in the city: with a growth rate of 2.2%, the region pioneer even in Austria. In April 2008, Styria
not only the central Graz area but also the city of Graz it- Tourism, the Styrian tourism company, launched an ini-
self are among the Austrian leaders. Thus, the positioning tiative aiming to make Graz and Styria a holiday destina-
of Graz as a city of culture with a high enjoyment factor tion for everyone. The basic idea was that any visitor co-
and high quality of life has paid off. Most visitors come ming to Styria could rest assured that any special needs
to the city in the summer months, with 60% of all visitors would be particularly catered for. The target group ranges
visiting the city between May and October. from people in wheelchairs to people with food allergies,
people with seeing or hearing disabilities, and seniors. The
Almost half of all visitors to Graz come from Austria, but group is far from being a minority. In the EU, 11% of the
the city is particularly popular with our German and Ital- population are customers with special needs. The total
ian neighbours as well. Nor is the city unknown in the market comprises around 74.5 million people, not inclu-
Asiatic area. Graz welcomed visitors from China (6,765 ding accompanying minders.
overnight visitors) and Japan (8,461 overnight visitors) in
2006. In addition, there are visitors to Graz from the tradi-
tionally good markets of Central Europe. UNESCO World Heritage Site
Tourists to Graz – and in 2006 they numbered 500,000 In Graz, the juxtaposition of old and new, tradition and
people – value quality: 48.7% of those nights in 2006 were innovation, craft and high-tech is a fixed component of
spent in four and five-star establishments, representing an everyday life. That is especially noticeable in architecture
increase of 1.8%. Graz also scores in the cheaper sector: as well, which links the classic architectural fabric of the
establishments in the one and two-star category register- old city with modern architectural solutions, thereby pre-
ed a slight growth in 2006 – a sign that Graz is also doing serving what has developed over time. Graz’s old city for
well particularly with young people. The average visitor example is considered one of the best-preserved historic
to Graz spent 158.5 euros per day on his stay in 2006. For town centres worldwide – a circumstance which led to its
the city of Graz, that means total turnover from tourism of designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. The
117.1 million euros. complex system of tunnels and galleries in the Schloßberg
(Castle Hill) in Graz, which offered thousands of Grazers
“Graz 2003 - Cultural Capital of Europe” generated a re- protection in the war years, has now been partially opened
cord tourist figure of 832,385 overnight visitors (in the city up to the public again. The main gallery now links the lower
of Graz). This high level of course cannot be maintained and upper parts of the old city, and in the year 2000 a mo-
permanently. Nevertheless, the number of overnight visi- dern lift system was built into the hill, carrying visitors
tors in the last years has risen steadily. It is now almost straight up to the iconic Graz clock tower on the Schloß-
10% above the level it was prior to Graz 2003. berg. In addition, the Dom im Berg can accommodate up
to 600 people as an exclusive events venue.
Graz is in addition a popular destination for conferences,
seminars and fairs. These account for 12% of all overnight
visitors, making a total of approximately 100,000 overnight
visitors annually. One of the reasons for the high popular-
ity of Graz as a conference city lies in the easy access to
the events locations. Days in Graz mean days in the centre:02_The city of Graz | 03_Milestones Page 26 Application 03_Milestones Page 27 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
Graz – art and culture The Kunsthaus Graz is architecturally one of the most
conspicuous buildings in the city, and is numbered world-
The cultural life of Graz is thoroughly diverse and full of wide among the most discussed exhibition buildings of
variation. At the heart of the Graz exhibition and muse- recent years. Its unconventional shape has earned it the
um landscape is the Styrian Landesmuseum Joanneum, nicknames “Friendly Alien”, and the “Blue Bubble”. To-
which looks back on a history of almost 200 years and is gether with Mur Island, it is among the lasting cultural
therewith Austria’s oldest museum. Founded in 1811 by buildings bequeathed by the Cultural Capital Year 2003.
Archduke Johann, a public-minded moderniser, the Lan- In recent years, the Kunsthaus has put on over 20 exhi-
desmuseum now comprises 19 departments with a total of bitions, in which stars of the international art scene were
4.5 million objects. These include fossil finds and splendid on show, including John Baldessari, Sol LeWitt, Lawrence
armour, works of Rembrandt and Schiele, a collection of Weiner, Donald Judd, Martin Kippenberger, On Kawara,
Roman memorial stones, a coin collection and the splendid Liz Larner and many others.
Baroque palace of Schloss Eggenberg in Graz. The Styrian
Armoury with over 32,000 pieces of armour, helmets and The year 2003 also saw the opening of the Graz Literatur-
weapons is the largest collection of historic weapons in haus, which is accommodated in the premises of the former
the world. At the end of the 1990s, the “Imperial Austria” Cultural Institute, and was endowed with a striking ex-
exhibition toured the world and conquered the USA, Can- tension by Graz architectural firm Riegler/Riewe. The Li-
ada and Australia. In spring 2008, the “Arms and Armour teraturhaus, which is also home to the Graz-based literary
from Imperial Austria” exhibition showed exhibits from research institution, the Franz Nabl Institute, has in the
the Graz Armoury at the Cleveland Museum of Art. six years of its existence developed into a fixed component
of the Austrian literary scene, and with its numerous read-
By 2011, the original site of the Landesmuseum Joanneum ings, performances and exhibitions constantly attracts a
located in the old city of Graz will undergo generous ren- steadily increasing stream of visitors.
ovation plans to create a new “Joanneum Quarter”. This
will provide Graz with a modern museum complex that In the realm of theatre, dance and performance, Grazers
can present the rich collections to the public in a contem- can choose from a broad spectrum of events. Alongside
porary context. However, the Joanneum is not only a mu- the major stages – the municipal theatre, the opera house
seum but also a teaching and research institute. It was at and the Next Liberty children’s and youth theatre – there
the Landesmuseum Joanneum that mineralogist Fried- is a thoroughly dynamic fringe scene, which comprises more
rich Mohs developed his hardness scale for determining than 50 groups. The best-known example is the Theater
the hardness of rocks, while Franz Xaver Unger, consid- im Bahnhof, winner of the nationwide Nestroy drama
ered the father of palaeobotany, taught biology in Graz prize for the best fringe production of 2002, which takes
from 1835-1849. a contemporary approach to Austrian folk theatre. Dra-
ma festivals that have sprung up from this highly vib-
In the field of contemporary art, the Landesmuseum Joan- rant scenevibrant scene include the international the in-
neum comprises no fewer than three important exhibition ternational La Strada Street and Puppet Theatre Fes-
buildings, namely the Künstlerhaus Graz, the Neue Ga- tival last round, and in the recent past “spleen”, which
lerie Graz and the Kunsthaus Graz. Whereas the Künst- keeps children and young people round-eyed with its
lerhaus with its ample presentation rooms shows national ambitious programme.
and international artists, albeit with a Styrian emphasis,
the collections of the Neue Galerie comprise national and The free theatre scene shows particular commitment in
international works from 1800 to the present. They include its work with socially marginalised groups. Graz’s Mez-
works by Marcel Duchamp, Maria Lassnig, Franz West, zanin Theater has integrated disabled people permanent-
Erwin Wurm, Günter Brus and Peter Weibel, who has ly into its ensemble since 1995 and tours Austria with its
worked for many years as chief curator of the institution. productions. On top of that, integrative theatre forms part
of social projects.03_Milestones Page 28 Application 03_Milestones Page 29 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
Culture for children Low rents attract many people from former Yugoslavia,
Turkey and Kosovo to settle in Lend and nearby Gries.
In Graz, there are numerous opportunities to become famil- These two districts were recently the focus of an exhibi-
iar with art and culture even at a tender age. One factor in tion put on by the Kunsthaus Graz in autumn 2007, which
this is the cultural centre at the Minoriten, another is the took a wide-ranging analytical look at social aspects of
children’s museum Frida & Fred, which opened in 2003. these areas.
Both of these have colourful and varied programmes en-
couraging young people to try out the museum experience.
Both places are also venues for performances of popular Cultural diversity, integration and human rights
children’s drama. Alongside these, there is also the TaO!
drama teaching centre, which has won several awards for Multiculturalism and cultural diversity are important
its successful productions, and where every year over 100 factors that cities are supposed to bring with them in the
children and young people are involved in professionally UNESCO Cities of Design network. Graz has a tradi-
staged performances. Equally successful, to judge by its tion of cultural diversity. Because of its proximity to the
popularity, is the KuKuK rural theatre festival, now in Balkans, it has always enjoyed an enriching admixture of
its eighth year. Launched by Graz’s Mezzanin Theater, it cultures - many designers, architects and artists for ex-
takes children’s and youth drama from home and abroad ample come from southeastern Europe. But not only peo-
out into the hinterland far beyond the city boundaries. ple from southeastern Europe have chosen Graz as their
new home. In all, 160 nationalities are represented in the
Graz’s Literaturhaus likewise runs its own children’s and city, and have made their mark on the urban landscape.
young people’s book festival. Since 2005, the “bookolino” In Graz, this multiculturalism has become a matter of
has focused on literature specially designed for young tar- conscious policy and ultimately an integral component in
get groups with a variety of activities, ranging from read- the various design orientations in the city. That constitu-
ings via workshops for young readers to theatre perfor- tes an enormous potential for the city. It can be used in
mances and book exhibitions. design, and features widely in exhibitions, events, sym-
posia and academic debate.
Lifestyle and savoir vivre However, multiculturalism has to be communicated in a
multicultural way, i.e. with the necessary sensitivity for
The quality of life is a great motivation for being in Graz intercultural differences. For designers in different indus-
– and especially for staying there. People of all ages val- tries and of different cultural origins, that spawns a host of
ue the large proportion of green space (over 40%), and the new (and quite far-reaching) fields of activity, for example
short distances making everything within easy reach. in information/media design and web sites. In Graz, this
Living in Graz means enjoying diversity. The relationship development is largely responsible for multicultural initia-
between high culture and subculture is agreeably balanc- tives and national integrational projects becoming more fa-
ed, which is particularly attractive to young people. In- miliar to a broad public over the years and being accepted
dividuals, particularly participants in the creative scene, as a matter of course and desirable feature. On a practical
unaggressively but firmly take the room they need to un- level, this has been a decisive factor in the launch of numer-
fold their creativity. It is no mere chance that more and ous initiatives and projects concerned with intercultural
more creative businesses have settled in the area around dialogue. A Peace Bureau – an educational institution fo-
the Kunsthaus Graz in Lend district, benefiting from the cusing on issues of peace, development and human rights –
revival of an area that had previously been considered has been set up to promote peaceful co-existence. Political
rather rundown. Numerous cafes and clubs are now part independence and inter-religiosity are the basis for con-
of the urban landscape there, as in the neighbouring dis- structive collaboration in this field, so appropriate organi-
trict of Gries. It is likewise no accident that particularly in sations are represented, along with all political parties and
these districts there is a high proportion of immigrants. the Catholic and Protestant Churches. The common aim is03_Milestones Page 30 Application 03_Milestones Page 31 Graz.
UNESCO
City of Design
to create the foundations of peaceful co-existence among papers, longstanding Megaphon editor-in-chief Harald
young people. That also applies to the IKU project of the Schmied came up with the idea of combining homeless-
Innovative Social Projects Association (ISOP). IKU means ness and football. The result was the Homeless World Cup,
“experience through play” in the Edo language of Nigeria. launched in Graz in 2003 with 18 nations participating. By
Children and young people are offered an opportunity to Melbourne in 2008, the number had risen to 56 countries,
get to know people from other cultures, thus promoting to- and the first competition for women also took place there.
lerant co-existence. Graz considers itself a city of dialogue The 2009 worldwide competition in Milan is the seventh,
and place of encounters. This cultural diversity was also following Graz, Gothenburg, Edinburgh, Cape Town, Co-
the reason for Graz being the first city in Austria to set penhagen and Melbourne.
up a Migrant Advisory Council in 1996 to represent the
interests of foreign residents. In addition, since 2000 Graz The city’s multicultural profile is reflected in numerous
has been one of 24 cities worldwide (but so far the only projects and initiatives. For example, since 1964 the Afro-
one in Europe) to have gained the UNO title of “City of Asian Institute has acted as a communication and meeting
Human Rights,” awarded to cities that have shown parti- point for students from Africa, Asia and Latin America,
cular commitment to human rights and diversity of cul- with a wealth of events such as symposia, lectures, readings,
tures. Special importance was attributed to the subjects of exhibitions etc., thus promoting cultural exchange beyond
integration and human rights in 2003, when Graz was Eu- European frontiers. One of the leading projects is “Cross-
ropean Capital of Culture. Events included the Long Night sing Cultures,” which initiates and promotes collaboration
of Tolerance and Project: Interfaith Europe. Previously, in between artists with a migration background and Styrian
autumn 2002, a Kalachakra for World Peace took place, at cultural personalities. The aim is to remove barriers and
which the Dalai Lama was one of the guests in the Styri- increase awareness of the unfamiliar and unknown. The
an capital. Numerous projects during the 2003 European Crossing Culture_Cuba fashion show for example, stag-
Capital of Culture programme fostered closer engagement ed in September 2009, had a direct connection with design,
and encounters with our neighbours in southeastern Eu- with fashion designers entering into a dialogue with ar-
rope. This is an issue that has been prominently reflected tists. Artistic collaboration across frontiers is also the idea
in the output of the Graz art scene since the fall of the Iron behind SLO ITA AUT. Organised by architects from Slo-
Curtain. The geopolitical situation of Graz on the fault li- venia, this is a series of conferences aiming to consolidate
ne between east and central Europe prompted the Graz regional partnerships. Justice is also being done to cultu-
town clerk of the day, Dževad Karahasan, to publish a ral diversity in a culinary respect in 2010, a “market of na-
book about exclusion, cross-border commuting and identi- tions” is to be set up on Griesplatz, in an area where many
ty. Grazer Gespräche (Graz Conversations) discussed phe- people with a migrant background live.
nomena of cultural diversity in Europe, the challenges for
peaceful co-existence that they gave rise to and the sig-
nificance of borders as a phenomenon in collective and in-
dividual perception. The discussion series was associated
with the Kontinentalbruch (Continental Fault) Project,
which was about religious fault lines between eastern and
Design in Graz
western Europe. Since 1995, Graz has had a street news- Design and Graz are a young but very promising couple!
paper called Megaphon. The similarly named social initia- In this connection, the Creative Industries Styria, launch-
tive aims not to hand out charity but to offer work as a key ed in 2007, plays a central role. In the three years of its
to integration. The vendors of the magazine are trained for existence, the Creative Industries Styria has become one
the job and their daily experiences are monitored. Cur- of the most interesting Austrian network communities.
rently around 120 Megaphon vendors operate in Graz and Along with the networking of economy and creative, it
the Styrian district capitals. They are predominantly male focuses on design-relevant topics, events and synergies,
and in Styria as asylum-seekers. They receive half of the € which creates a longterm effect among the population.
2.20 cover price. At a meeting of international street news- In recent years, the expansion of Graz as a business andYou can also read
