ELEMENTARE ARCHITEKTUR ARCHITECTONICS by Raimund Abraham

Verlag Anton Pustet, 2001, Hardcover, First edition thus. 108 pp., 11 1/4" X 9 1/2"

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Abraham was one of the first architects who analyzed the essence and structure of anonymous rural architecture and in 1963 published ‘Elementare Architektur’ (Elementary architecture) together with photographer Josef Dapra (who also had him build his first house). The publication highlighted the functional, alpine rural architecture which wasn’t subject to any passing fads. The featured examples range from hay racks and woodworking joints to barn stairways. Up until then, Austria had only published another seminal publication two years before called ‘Anonymes Bauen Nordburgenland’ (Anonymous Building in the Nordburgenland) by Roland Rainer. While the latter was conceived as a reaction to the incipient destruction of old buildings in mountain villages, highlighting the positive traits of traditional buildings and forms, Abraham, as suggested by his title, researched elementary structures in architecture. This edition is an expanded and reworked reprint of the original 1963 edition.