Heidulf Gerngross
Heidulf Gerngross, Vienna, 23 March 2026
“The space here is a source of strength for this conversation.”
Architect Heidulf Gerngross sits at Kiang in Vienna’s first district; it’s early 2026. Back in 1985, he joined forces with Helmut Richter to design this restaurant in a way that was far removed from all the Chinese restaurant clichés that were omnipresent back then—as a small yet open, utilitarian yet inviting, decidedly timeless space. With this episode as a springboard, the conversation with Gerngross develops into a sequence of reflections on the haptic (world) experience and pragmatic engagement with craftsmanship and materials that gave rise to a life’s work of countless deftly designed commissions, amidst which avant-garde literature and anarchic artworks represent repeated surprising detours. From a house for a house custodian to the legendary computer novel “Volksbuch” and the invention of the “Archiquant,” there emerge highlights of a life and oeuvre that have oscillated impressively between his affinities for world travel and his home province of Carinthia, between the self-concept of a practitioner and dreamer’s yearnings.
“The space here is a source of strength for this conversation.”
Architect Heidulf Gerngross sits at Kiang in Vienna’s first district; it’s early 2026. Back in 1985, he joined forces with Helmut Richter to design this restaurant in a way that was far removed from all the Chinese restaurant clichés that were omnipresent back then—as a small yet open, utilitarian yet inviting, decidedly timeless space. With this episode as a springboard, the conversation with Gerngross develops into a sequence of reflections on the haptic (world) experience and pragmatic engagement with craftsmanship and materials that gave rise to a life’s work of countless deftly designed commissions, amidst which avant-garde literature and anarchic artworks represent repeated surprising detours. From a house for a house custodian to the legendary computer novel “Volksbuch” and the invention of the “Archiquant,” there emerge highlights of a life and oeuvre that have oscillated impressively between his affinities for world travel and his home province of Carinthia, between the self-concept of a practitioner and dreamer’s yearnings.