The Lend district mediates heterogeneity through urban growth and its vibrant appearance, becoming one of the most attractive areas of the city of Graz. Its essential feature, the Lendplatz square, is an old farmer’s marketplace that naturally captures the cultural landmark of its trade traditions, offering encounter zones for interpersonal exchange.
Contrary to investors’ habits of demolishing the old gable-ended houses in the area, the architects acquired the property with partners and developed a concept that preserves and extends one of the oldest buildings on the square.
The project also assisted the country’s renovation program, which allows social variation through low-cost lettings. By incorporating a persisting, square facing, structure from the Baroque period of the late 18th century with a new construction added in the courtyard, the building, called “Rose am Lend”, was consciously brought into the complex historical and contemporary context.
A central element, the rose, formally references the time when the old part was constructed but also references the statue of the holy Rosalia on the adjacent square. This motif appears throughout the entire design, in customized wrought-iron flowers on the railings and complementing large rose reliefs on the facade. The “Rose am Lend,” a four-story building consisting of eleven dwelling units and commercial space on the ground floor, creates a powerful and unmistakable identity.
