Architecture in Vorarlberg since 1980

The Austrian region of Vorarlberg is bordered by the Arlberg, Raetikon, and Silvretta mountain ranges. It lies open toward Switzerland and Southern Germany, and has its main settlement in the Rhine Valley. It is also home to some of the most innovative contemporary architecture in Europe, a phenomenon begun in the 80s by a small, loose group of architects and developers known as the Vorarlberg Bauschule (Vorarlberg Building School). In their trailblazing apartment buildings and tenement houses, they succeeded in taking up historic local building traditions and in adapting their principles to the requirements of modern life. The project has since expanded, and rigorous competitive policies now determine a whole range of public, commercial, and industrial building projects, many of which are documented here through maps, plans, and photographs of 260 selected Vorarlberg buildings.