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Temporary Parliament

Competition Entry, 2nd place

The renovation of the Austrian parliament building forced to move the daily business away from Ring Street into two temporary pavilions at the nearby Heldenplatz for four years. The directory of the parliament saw this period as a great opportunity to open the parliament to the public and strongly attract the Austrian citizens. A competition invited to design the temporary facade of the pavilions. Our entry suggested a time travel through the history of democracy in form of a graphic novel.

Sketch of the parliament building and the design proposal in the style of a graphic novel

A symbolic ear is the tour leader through history. It meets illustrated characters of the Austrian democracy, witnesses milestones of the first and second republic and comments the current political events from a neutral perspective. The basis for the story line were the parliament’s documents for pupils house tours.

Illustration of an ear with legs, black on white, holding a microphone, and a speech bubble saying "democracy"
Illustration of famous women of Austrian history in black and white, fighting for their parliamentary voice
Illustrated signpost with signs pointing in different directions and indicating values of democracy - from equality to participation

The core values of democracy literally lead the way through history. Our proposal for the facade design had an explicitly contemporary touch to contrast the surrounding classic buildings. The concept and place should mainly attract young people for politics.

Accompanying communications media strengthened the idea of participation. Humorous merchandise at the parliament shop adapted the idea of the graphic novel. Also, the concept invited the numerous tourists who pass the Heldenplatz each day to dive into Austrian history, by translating the content of the face with an app.

Two illustrated hands holding an illustrated cell phon, scanning a sketch of the parliament with it - for a translation possibility of the graphic novel via an app
An illustrated hand carries the mock up of a tote bag in white with the black inscription "I contribute my part to democracy"
Mock up of a magazine called "Das Parlament" with text and illustrations in graphic novel style design idea
Muh!