Artist 13: Hans Hollein

Hans Hollein was born in 1934 in Austria to a family of mining architects.  He is a world-renowned architect and designer.  However he is better known for his grand architecture.  In 1956 he received a diploma from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, in 1959 he attended the Illinois Institute of Technology followed by the University of California in 1960.  Upon returning to Austria he founded his own agency in 1964.  From 1963 forward he has been a professor at various Universities and Academies worldwide.  Many of his buildings are visually stunning and provocative. Hollein does not create simple, common, architecture that fits in; he makes everything he works on a statement.  He was a harsh critic of functionalism, which is a large part of modern art.  Although he was not a functionalist, his architectural style is classified as modern.  Hollein often tried to create something new, but that still fit with the surrounding buildings.  His new buildings fit well among the surrounding old buildings of ancient European cities.  Although he traveled all across America and spent time in other countries in Europe, the large majority of Hans Hollein’s work was done in Austria and Germany.  His buildings are a mix of the modern world and architecture style, and the architecture of Europe’s past.