Walter Benjamin wrote that everyday life is built in the here and lived in the now, and it is this very life in the
buildings built here and now that specifically does not appear in architectural photography. Presentational
photos of often give the impression that the users have been sent on holiday in order not to disturb the
architecture.

Architecture 24/7 - an everyday relationship, the final exhibition of the HDA programme "position alltag"
[architecture in the context of everyday life], deals with architecture as an everyday phenomenon, architecture
that surrounds us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This relates not only to those workaholic architects but
also, indeed primarily, to the people for whom the former plan and build. Although, whether producers of
architecture or not, through their unavoidable and constant closeness to architecture in their lives, all of them
consider, produce and use it at the same time. So it's all about closeness, as with the theme of steirischer
steirischer herbst 2007, "close enough", in which context the exhibition was presented. What is closer than
one's own four walls, the workplace, daily routes through town, one's own favourite spot in the sunshine?

The goal of the photo exhibition was to capture the essence of life in the built here and now. More precisely,
to allow to be captured. An impressively large number of architects' offices acted on the HDA invitation, with
architects taking their cameras (back) to the buildings, landscapes or spaces they had built and thus visiting
the people, animals or things that now inhabit and use these spaces.

For the representation of everyday life in images, architects were asked to take one picture each of their
buildings and landscapes in postcard format, showing them in use from their point of view.

From the contributions to the exhibition one can see how the architects individually dealt with the question
of the relationship between the products of architecture and the everyday. So it is that the photos add up to
yield a living picture of what living in and with architecture can be, whether referring to a totality or to
humble understated details; the latter communicating discreetly yet insistently of the greater part to which
they belong.

This architectural perspective was for the exhibition complemented by commentary statements from users of
the buildings. In this juxtaposition of perspectives on architecture - photo and dialogue, architects and users -
various different kinds of closeness and distance become evident. How near or how far is the built structure
in relation to those who have planned it and those who spend their everyday life inside it?

This opens up a productive area of conflict between the aspects of use and of expression of architecture,
between enabling or preventing things with building(/s), between everyday life and what goes beyond the
here and now. Thus we should also discuss the relationship between representation and production. Archi-
tectural photography, even the usual 'uninhabited' type, had and still has an influence on the design process.

Could the retrospective representation shown here in turn reach back to influence everyday dealings with
architecture or the way it is adopted by users, or indeed the conception and production of architecture?
(Text Gabu Heindl)

AusstellungsteilnehmerInnen / Participants of the exhibition:
Arquitectos ZT KEG, Heidi Pretterhofer, Dieter Spath • ARTEC Architekten • Arch. DI Josef Bacher • balloon Rampula/Gratl/Wohofksy •
Arch. DI Walter Chiapo • Arch. DI Christian Deimel • Architekten Domenig & Wallner ZT GmbH • EDERER + HAGHIRIAN ARCHITEKTEN •
Arch. DI Franz Eitzinger • Peter Fattinger und Michael Rieper • FEICHTINGER ARCHITECTES • Architekturbüro Feyferlik / Fritzer •
fiedler.tornquist arch+urb • Klaus Gartler • Arch. DI Ernst Giselbrecht • Alfred Graffer • Arch. DI Eugen Gross • Eva Grubbauer +
Martin Luce + Joost Meuwissen + Johannes Weisser • Eva Gyüre und Peter Vogi • Arch. Helmut Hafner HAJSOK_MOMIC Architects •
Arch. DDI Dr. Helmut Hoffmann • HOFRICHTERRITTER Architekten • Marie-Theres Holler • HOLZBOX ZT GMBH • Arch. Michael
Homann • HUSSA-KASSARNIG ZT-GMBH • Arch. DI Karl Hütter • Arch. DI Eilfried Huth • INNOCAD • Arch. DI Michael Kadletz •
ARCHºBUERO KALTENEGGER • Arch. DI Wolfgang Kapfhammer • Arch. DI Adolph H. Kelz • Walter Kletzl • Arch. DI Michael Kocher •
Prof. Arch. Karla Kowalski / Prof. Arch. Michael Szyszkowitz • Martin Krammer • Freya Krummel • LAND IN SICHT - Büro für
Landschaftsplanung DI Christian Lankes • DI Gernot Lauffer • DI Ulf Leitner • Peter Lidl - Architektur für Menschen •
LOVE architecture and urbanism zt gmbh • Arch. DI Heimo Math • Arch. DI Ingrid Mayr • Arch. DI Christian Meier • DI Astrid Meyer •
Arch. DI Gerhard Mitterberger • Margarethe Mueller • Arch. Norbert Müller • nonconform architektur vor ort • Nussmüller
Architekten ZT GmbH • Günter Pichler • polar+ • ppag architects ztgmbh - Anna Popelka & Georg Poduschka • Atelier Thomas
Pucher • Dir. DI Walter Raiger • DI Wolfgang Reinisch • reitmayr architekten • Architekturbüro Riegler Riewe • Arch. DI Petra
ROTH-PRACHER • Architekten Diplom-Ingenieure Friederice und Dieter Saiko • Arch. DI Reinhard Schafler • Arch. Mag. Manfred Schenk •
SPLITTERWERK • Architektur STROBL, Arch. DI Martin Strobl • Arch. DI Robert Tanzer • TEAM A GRAZ • transparadiso (b. holub /
p. rajakovics / b. vlay) • Arch. DI Daniela Vukovits • Arch. DI Karin Wallmüller • Irmfried Windbichler • Arch. DI Dietger Wissounig •
Arch. Manfred Wolff-Plottegg • Arch. DI Heinz Wondra • ARCHITEKTUR BÜRO WRATSCHKO

content: (c) GABU Heindl Architektur 2008