Liebiggasse was established in the 1880s as a road connecting Heinrichstraße and Schubertstra ße, which ran parallel to Geidorfgürtel. A mixture of inconsistent architectural styles is reflected in this street (Late Historic: No. 22, No. 24 and No. 26, Old German (Altdeutsch): No. 16, Art Nouveau: No. 5, No. 7, No. 12 and community buildings built in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as a dormitory from the 1980s, No. 4).
The building located at Liebiggasse 9 was built in 1934 for the Board of Directors of Dr. Winter, who acquired the property in 1930. Originally, the architectural style of the two – almost identical – neighbouring houses (No. 5 and No. 7 built in 1911/1912) was to have been adopted for No. 9. Two projects were designed by Herbert Eichholzer (working with Viktor Badl) and received building permits for construction (1929 and 1930). Ultimately, Dr. Winter preferred the new, more modern architectural style, and this design was chosen. The construction company Ed. Ast & Co. built the five-story building within just six months.
In 2005, we acquired the building and completely renovated it in 2009 and 2010. By investing a great deal of effort and paying careful attention to detail, we restored the house to its original state: The original style of the garage doors, wooden blinds (instead of the plastic blinds), door knobs and many more details were replicated, and the house was equipped with modern conveniences (intercom, light switches, lamps, flooring, etc.), which were in line with the style of the 1930s.
Since we did not want to alter the façade of the building and wanted to maintain it in its original style, the existing, gabled roof was demolished, and the upper level of the house was insulated to save as much energy as possible. On this level, a two-story roof structure with a green, flat roof was created, which was detached from the original structure.
Today, the six-storey building captivates viewers with its simplicity and clean lines. Some noteworthy details include the entrance door with its round window, which is repeated in the interior, the vestibule with its blue, opaque glass panelling, the delicate staircase, the stair railing and, finally, the prominent balconies that protrude over the corner.
The building was registered as a historical monument in 2010.
The floor plans of the house, created nearly 100 years ago, still perfectly meet contemporary needs: Each room is individually accessible via a spacious vestibule, and the rooms are also connected with one other. Two rooms were divided by a sliding door which, when opened, converts the space into a single, large room. Eichholzer was far ahead of his time!
The historical connection between the building and Herbert Eichholzer as a person is certainly more important than the architecture of the house, which continues to remind us of him. The discussion about the person and his work is more relevant today than ever!
The two-storey neighbouring building, which was planned by the architecture company yes, was set back from the main building by more than a meter to create a clear break between the building created by Eichholzer and the new building. The coloured glass of the porch on the neighbouring building mirrors the colour scheme used for the main building.
Shade for the interior is provided by the use of shades with holes made out of alucobond®.
The original plans did not include a lift system. The staircase had no extra space that would allow the installation of a lift, so the lift tower was constructed on the side of the building facing the courtyard in the garden.
The lift tower was constructed next to the building, and alucobond® panels in colours that matched the building were used. A glass panel was also installed that enables a view into the surrounding residential area.
The spacious floor plans of the units to be rented are flooded with light due to the large windows. All rooms are accessible via the large, impressive entrance hall. In addition, the rooms are connected with one another. The units each have one to two large balconies.
The large units have elegant sliding glass doors that allow a space to be used as a single, large room or divided into two rooms.
The metal fittings in the house were either restored or remade in the original style.
The cast-iron radiators, which weight up to 100 kg, were removed, sandblasted, repainted and reinstalled.
The two- to three-section, inward-opening, double windows are equipped with the original metal fittings. The wooden shutters, most of which have been rebuilt and repainted the original colour of blackberry, were mounted in shutter mounting frames.
The colour scheme corresponds to the original colours used: white for the building structure, blackberry for the shutters, brown-grey for the base, black for the entrance door and black for the balcony fencing/railing.
Near the end of the 19th century, the Graz City Council decided to promote a design concept to promote urban living that applied to the construction of residential buildings: Namely, the front gardens were to be created in such a way as to provide a link between the house and public space. When planted with red roses and lavender, the front garden fulfills a function that is not merely ecological.
The space for the garden that is located behind the building was also planned by Herbert Eichholzer. It was designed on two levels in the form of terraces that are connected by a stone staircase.
The design of the delicate staircase, case in concrete, with filigree-like lattice of the banister could possibly have been created as a result of an interaction with Ernst A. Plische and viewings of the Viennese Werkbund residential buildings (Wiener Werkbundsiedlung). The stairheads are covered with black linoleum. The round windows also recur in the staircase.
During the renovation work, the existing light switches were replaced with Berker switches / series 1930. We arranged for most of the delicate-appearing doorknobs on the doors providing access to the rooms to be remade in the original style.
The draft created by Herbert Eichholzer envisaged the “installation of three garages with an oil separator facility” in the basement. The exit/entrance ramp should be located in the front yard.
The observation that the number of motor vehicles was steadily increasing obviously influenced the decision to design garages for the building. Two years previously, Herbert Eichholzer had planned the Operngarage in Graz, which provides space for 200 cars to park.
Tilt doors for the garages were described in the building permit, but these gates were instead designed as wooden, folding doors, which we restored in their original form.
The first motorcar drove through Graz in 1899. In 1903, 17 automobiles had been registered in Graz, and, by 1930, nearly 1,500 motor vehicles were found in Styria. The fuel was purchased in pharmacies and at inns. The amount of traffic increased gradually, and the infrastructure needed to be adapted for these “dusty vehicles”: Roads were provisionally improved by spreading gravel, and Nicolson pavement from wooden blocks was used in front of public buildings. Workshops and petrol stations were built. The first petrol station in Austria was opened in 1924 in Graz.
Together with Rudolf Nowotny, Herbert Eichholzer planned a car depot in 1932/33 or - as the press euphorically described it at the time - a “hotel for cars”.
It included a petrol station with three petrol pumps, an area to wash the cars and an automobile repair shop.
The striking entrance of the house has a filigree roofing structure and a side wall consisting of metal bracing with glass inlays.
The single-panel entrance door with a round window opens into the vestibule that is framed with a blue, opaque glass panels.
The circular window, an ideal geometric shape, reappears time and again in Eichholzer's work. This type of window, which is similar to portholes seen on ocean liners, was repeatedly used as a stylistic element in the Liebiggasse 9 building (staircase, entrance door). It has become a symbol of progress in architecture.
This is a special, turbid type of glass that scatters light completely and, thus, makes it appear opaque. It is produced through a casting process in the form of 8- to 30-mm thick panels, the edges are ground, the surface is left dull or polished, and it can have a variety of colours.
Two varieties are recognized:
Slag glass, which has a marble-like appearance produced by mixing harmonizing colors, and opaque white glass. The latter is characterized by its homogeneous composition. Slag glass was used for our object. Slag glass was produced in Austria until the 1860s and is extremely rare today.
The wrought-iron lattice framework (German: Wellengitter or Krippgitterzaun) was used both in the staircase (banister) and the balconies (fencing/railing). This type of fence was very popular during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (the so-called Wiener Zaun) and was particularly beloved from 1880 to 1920.
This type of fencing is made from pre-galvanized wires. Initially, the wires are straight, and then they are bent into waves. The wires are then woven over and under one another, although they are not welded at the intersecting points; instead, the fencing is stabilized by the way the wires are crimped and woven to form the structure, a square-mesh lattice.
The figure carved from sandstone, which appears to the right of the entrance mounted on a base plate, was created by Walter Ritter.
Today, Saint Florian is considered the most popular saint. He was the first Austrian martyr and is the patron saint of the fire brigade. His images are placed in many churches and private homes to protect them from fire.
His portrayal with a bucket of water was mistakenly interpreted as an indication that he was extinguishing a fire. Instead, he was pushed off a bridge into the Enns river on May 4, 304 A.D. with a stone around his neck, because he refused to renounce Christianity. The portrayal with water is interpreted as a symbol that he drowned.
Walter Ritter adhered to an archaic, yet also modern, style. In the sense of classical modernity, the repertoire of forms he developed mirror archaic cultural elements. Recurring Etruscan, Greek and Egyptian motifs appear in his art. His numerous drawings often contain aspects of New Objectivity. He undertook a journey to Africa very early on (in 1925), which made a huge impression on his artistic development. At that time, his travel companion was Herbert Eichholzer. Walter Ritter was a member of an intellectual circle that included Anna-Lülja Praun (née Simidoff, 1906-2005, who worked and lived from 1930 to 1936 with Herbert Eichholzer), Axel Leskoschek (1889-1976, who created the mural “Allegory of Joy”, which expresses opposition to the emerging National Socialism, which is located in the Villa Albrecher - Leskoschek (1937) that was planned by Herbert Eichholzer in Graz at Hilmteichstraße 24 and later demolished) and Kurt Neumann (1902-1984). The members of this circle often met in Landhaus Feuerlöscher, which is currently part of Prenning’s Garten (prenningsgarten.at/) in Deutschfeistritz north of Graz.
Here, Walter Ritter and Herbert Eichholzer designed and produced the wooden toy called KLUMP in 1935, which was painted by Anna Neumann (née Feuerlöscher, 1905-1977). The toy has been produced again since 2003. (chanceb/klump.at)
