Gusen Memorial: Official Launch of the Design Competition

On 23 September 2024, the Burghauptmannschaft Österreich as the client and the Mauthausen Memorial have published the EU-wide announcement of a design competition for the overall landscape planning, architectural and urban design of several areas on the site of the former Gusen concentration camp. This will significantly expand the existing Gusen Memorial, developing it into a place of remembrance and education for the future.

Design teams from across the EU are invited to submit proposals for the landscape design, the planning of new buildings and the adaptation of existing historic buildings for future use. The competition guidelines are based on the master plan resulting from the international participation process.

Potential applicants can view the details of the tender on the platform ANKÖ.
Deadline: 10 January 2025, 12:00 am

The EU-wide competition is two-stage, open and anonymous. At the end of January, a jury will meet to determine the best competition entries, with these applicants then invited to develop their planning proposals further in a second stage of the competition. This is expected to begin in March and, as things stand at present, will conclude in June when the jury will meet again to decide which designs are worthy of an award and to select the winning project. Before making a public announcement, the client will then enter into negotiations with the submitters of the winning project to conclude a general planning framework agreement for the realisation of the design.

The competition phase also marks the start of other developments. At the same time, new education programmes will be developed to complement existing educational services, and the Research Centre of the Mauthausen Memorial will soon publish comprehensive scientific research on Gusen. In October, an information and community meeting centre will open in the immediate vicinity of the existing memorial. Barbara Glück, Director of the Mauthausen Memorial, commented: ‘The great success of the participation process has shown that the best results are achieved by working together in a spirit of goodwill. We are now looking forward to starting the next phase of this unique project and to sharing together the experience of seeing the results of this collaboration gradually become reality. Our information and community meeting centre will act as an invitation to continue these conversations on site.’

‘With the design competition, the Burghauptmannschaft and the Mauthausen Memorial are providing significant impetus for the development of the Gusen Memorial’, noted Burghauptmann Reinhold Sahl. ‘This project reflects the aspiration not only to come to terms with the past, but also to preserve it as a powerful reminder for the future. It is an example of how Austria's architectural heritage can be shaped for the future through local, regional and European ideas and modern architecture.’

‘The expansion of the Gusen Memorial is a project of great significance,’ said Martin Kocher, Federal Minister of Labour and Economy. ‘Here, we will create a contemporary memorial site that will carry remembrance into the future. The design competition will set out several different possibilities of what this future could look like. We await the process and the final selection with interest.’

‘By expanding the memorial site, the federal government is fulfilling its responsibility towards the victims of National Socialism and their surviving relatives,’ added Gerhard Karner, the Federal Minister of the Interior responsible for memorial sites. ‘For a long time, Gusen received significantly less attention than the former Mauthausen concentration camp. It is therefore an even more powerful signal that Gusen will be the place to set new standards in terms of remembrance throughout Europe.’

In accordance with the constituent meeting of the jury held on 11 September 2024, the jury is composed as follows:

Specialist Jury Members

Architect Emeritus Prof. Manfred Wehdorn, CEO Wehdorn Architekten (chair)
Architect Prof. Hans Gangoly, CEO of Gangoly & Kristiner Architekten ZT GmbH,  nominated by the Chamber of Civil Engineers | Architects and Engineering Consultants for Upper Austria and Salzburg (deputy chair)
Architect Elisabeth Lesche, el:ch landschaftsarchitekten Part-GmbB, nominated by the Chamber of Civil Engineers | Architects and Engineering Consultants for Upper Austria and Salzburg  (secretary)
Prof. Stefanie Endlich, Honorary Professor of Art in Public Space; research focus on architecture, memorial culture, urban history and fine art
Dr. Tomasz Kranz, Director Majdanek State Museum
Prof. Bertrand Perz, Department of Contemporary History, University of Vienna and Scientific Advisory Board Mauthausen Memorial

Expert Jury Members

Christian Aufreiter, Mayor of Langenstein
Andreas Derntl, Mayor of St. Georgen/Gusen
Prof. Guy Dockendorf, President Comité International de Mauthausen
Dr. Barbara Glück, Director Mauthausen Memorial
Willi Mernyi, Chair Mauthausen Komitee Österreich
Burghauptmann Reinhold Sahl, Department Head Burghauptmannschaft Österreich