On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its foundation, the Austrian Cultural Forum in Tehran will hold a special program in mid-August at Niavaran Cultural Center in Tehran to pay tribute to Austrian architect, furniture designer and interior decorator Otto Wagner on the occasion of his 100th death anniversary.
The forum is a cultural institution that focuses on teaching the German language, offering music and theater courses, organizing seminars and aptitude tests alongside providing books to 2000 plus subscribers.
Opening on August 14, the event, dubbed “Otto Wagner, Endless Town”, will consist of two sections: exhibition and conference.
The event has been made possible through the effort of Golmar Mina Kempinger-Khatibi, an Iranian born Architect and University Lecturer based in Vienna, mainly to promote scientific and cultural collaboration between Iran and Austria, a relationship officially going back to at least 160 years.
The exhibit will feature some of Wagner’s designs and architectural plans for development and planning of Vienna, Honaronline reported on its Persian website.
Architect Giti Etemad; head of the research center of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti; Austrian architect Hermann Czech; and Andreas Nierhaus, curator of the architecture section of Vienna Museum will speak at the meeting.
The effects of modernism on Tehran and Vienna with architects from the two countries will also be discussed.
Wagner (1841-1918) is known for his lasting impact on modernism and the appearance of his hometown Vienna. He inspired generations of architects in countries far and wide.
Wagner was keen on urban planning. In 1890 he designed a new city plan for Vienna, but only his urban rail network, the Stadtbahn, was built.
His major works in Austria include, the iconic Vienna Stadtbahn metropolitan railway system, Majolica House, Austrian Postal Savings Bank (a modernist masterpiece of architecture and engineering that is a perfect fusion of form and function in both architecture and furnishings) and the Church of St. Leopold.
He also is architect of the Rumbach Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary.
Niavaran Cultural Center in northern Tehran will host the exhibit through August 27.
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