Richard Gach (31 October 1930 – 25 December 1991) was an Austrian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

sketch artist ''Sketch Artist'', also known as ''The Sketch Artist'', is a 1992 American Television film, made-for-television Crime film, crime-thriller film written by Michael Angeli and directed by Phedon Papamichael and starring Jeff Fahey, Sean Young an ...

, and

watercolorist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

. He mainly designed schools for the city of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and was involved in the construction of some residential buildings.

Biography

Private

Richard Gach was born in Itzling (then the municipality Gnigl-Itzling, today district of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

). The Gach-Gräff family included several artists. Gach married Johanna Henke, daughter of the chemist Richard Henke. One of their daughters, Martina Maria Elisabeth Gach, a professor for art, married the artist Helmuth Gräff, and was the mother of the artist

Matthias Laurenz Gräff Matthias Laurenz Gräff (also known as ''Matthias Laurenz Gräff Ilpenstein''; born 19 July 1984) is an Austrian-Greek academic painter, private historian, politician, political activist and co-founder and organizer of the non-partisan platform ...

. Gach was a member of the Schlaraffia society under the religious name "Knight of Kamp". He died in

Horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

Professional

Richard Gach completed the Salzburg HTL for Building Construction and in 1949 he studied architecture at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

in the class of Lois Welzenbacher. As a student he built the scale model for the construction of the

Wiener Stadthalle Wiener Stadthalle (; English: ''Viennese City Hall'') is a multi-purpose indoor arena and convention center located in the 15th district of Vienna, Austria. Austrian architect Roland Rainer designed the original halls which were constructed b ...

at the request of the architect Roland Rainer. During his studies he became friends with architects such as Gustav Peichl,

Friedrich Achleitner Friedrich Achleitner (23 May 1930 – 27 March 2019) was an Austrian poet and architecture critic. As a member of the Wiener Gruppe, he wrote concrete poems and experimental literature. His magnum opus is a multi-volume documentation of 20th-cent ...

, Wilhelm Holzbauer, and Hans Puchhammer. He graduated in 1955 with a Mag. Arch. and began work in the architecture office of Wilhelm Hubatsch, with whom he later won several

architectural competition An architectural competition is a type of design competition, in which an entity that intends to build new work, or is just seeking ideas, invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning scheme is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

s. After becoming an independent architect in 1958, Gach actively contributed to the construction of Viennese housing and schools. The Gach-designed Gangschule with 24 classes and two high schools comes from the "haze circle" of Hubatsch's school concepts. This concept is typified by the residential complex Edergasse 1-3 in Vienna 21 and the two

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Hernalser Gymnasium Geblergasse and Amerling-Gymnasium. In 1970, the former Esterhazypalais (Palais Kaunitz) was demolished for the construction of the Amerling Gymnasium. Built in 1970-1972, the new building with 24 classrooms and two sports halls corresponds to the common typology used in the construction of secondary schools in the late sixties, without any architectural respect for the environment. Die beiden Architekten Gustav Peichl und Richard Gach in Gars am Kamp

Die beiden Architekten Gustav Peichl und Richard Gach in Gars am Kamp

It was also important to him to build contemporary architecture, also in the context of church building. He planned the church building of Rigau at Abtenau (Salzburg) with Robert Posch in 1956. The project failed because of the Pinzgau district authority. The '' Wiener Wochenpresse'' headline said that the planning ended up being "customary" (i.e. traditional). Richard Gach was also active in Lower Austria, as reflected in numerous construction projects such as the Aufbahrungshalle in Orth an der Donau, the Bundesgymnasium and Bundesrealgymnasium Amstetten (high school), the Sparkasse

Mistelbach Mistelbach an der Zaya (; Mistelbach on the (River) Zaya; Central Bavarian: ''Mistlboch'') is a town in the northeast of Austria in Lower Austria, one of Austria's nine States of Austria, federal states. It is located roughly 40 km northea ...

and the Hauptschule

Gars am Kamp Gars am Kamp is a market town at the Kamp river (Kamptal) in the district of Horn, region Waldviertel in the Austrian state Lower Austria with 3,542 inhabitants (2016). History Gars was between 1075 - 1095, during the reign of the House of Babenb ...

. Gach lived in his adopted home Gars am Kamp until his death. In 2011, a portion of his artistic estate, consisting of architectural drawings and watercolors, was auctioned there.

Construction contracts (selection)

* 1958: Housing estate Nußberggasse 9 / Bockkellergasse, Vienna 19 (with Wilhelm Hubatsch) * 1960: Bundesgymnasium and Bundesrealgymnasium Amstetten (highschool) (with Wilhelm Hubatsch, Competition 1st Prize * 1962-1964: Residential building Edergasse 1-3, Vienna 21 * 1963: Josefstädter Straße 93-97, Vienna 8 (with Ernst Schuster) * 1964: elementary school Pfeilgasse and new middle school Pfeilgasse. Pfeilgasse 42b / Stolzenthalergasse 19, Vienna 8 (with Ernst Schuster)NMS Pfeilgasse. Die Pfeilgasse feiert ihren 50. Geburtstag! (german)
/ref> * 1964-1966: Sparkasse Mistelbach * 1964-1968: Hauptschule Gars am Kamp * 1968: Hernalser Gymnasium Geblergasse (highschool), Vienna 17 * 1960 / 70s: Aufbahrungshalle in Orth on the Danube * 1970-1972: Amerling-Gymnasium (highschool), Vienna 6 * 1973-1977: Residence Leopold-Figl-Gasse 503/504 and 523/524, Gars am Kamp

Non-realistic objects (selection)

* 1956: Church building of Rigau near Abtenau (Pongau) (with Robert Posch) * 1956: Bundesrealgymnasium Horn (highschool) (with Wilhelm Hubatsch, competition, 2nd prize * 1957: Administration Building Austrian Drau Power Plants, Klagenfurt (with Wilhelm Hubatsch, Competition, 1st Prize) * 1958: Town Planning Competition, Vienna 10, Eisenstadtplatz (with Wilhelm Hubatsch, Competition, 2nd Prize)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gach, Richard 1930 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Austrian architects 20th-century Austrian artists Artists from Salzburg People from Lower Austria Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni