Two ambitious architectural thesis projects from Vienna University of Technology have left a lasting impact on discussions about urban development in Klagenfurt, Austria, despite never being constructed. The 2015 diploma works by Mario Meleschnig and Stefan Paoloni, supervised by Professor Christian Kühn, presented visionary designs for transforming the historic Lendhafen waterfront district with a public library and underground event hall.
The Lend Canal, artificially constructed in the 16th century and stretching approximately four kilometers, connects Klagenfurt's old town with Lake Wörthersee but remains an unfulfilled urban planning promise. Both thesis projects addressed this potential by proposing cultural and educational facilities that would create vibrant public spaces along the waterway while respecting the area's historical character.
Meleschnig's library design stretches along the Lend Canal waterfront, incorporating an attached café. The building features accessible walkable roofs and ramps that open the structure to the promenade, with barrier-free access integrated as a core architectural concept rather than an afterthought. The design carefully preserves pedestrian and bicycle paths as well as the canal itself, allowing the building to integrate seamlessly rather than create barriers.
The interior of Meleschnig's proposed library deliberately avoids rigid zoning, following the principle that "everything should be able to function everywhere." The facility was specifically designed to serve schools and kindergartens as an educational and recreational destination by the water. As Meleschnig explained in his abstract, the library aims to create "a gentle connection between modern architecture and nature" while serving as an educational institution to "provide impetus for the cultural development of the city of Klagenfurt."
Paoloni's complementary project places a 600-person event hall entirely underground, taking advantage of the terrain that drops up to six meters from the old town to the Lendhafen area. Only small-scale structures and light shafts would remain visible above ground, with the main functional spaces created below. The historic Ratschtreslhaus building would serve as the entrance, foyer, and restaurant space after renovation, preserving the existing historical structure.
The underground hall concept embodies the principle of utilizing, connecting, and expanding existing structures rather than overwhelming them. "The topographical conditions enable interesting developments into the depths to obtain necessary usable areas for medium-sized events without disturbing sight lines and the historically developed structures in the surrounding area," Paoloni wrote in his thesis abstract.
While neither project was realizable or ultimately built, they have significantly shaped ongoing debates about public space development along Klagenfurt's waterfront. The proposals demonstrate key principles for sensitive urban transformation: careful integration between existing and new construction, barrier-free and open ground floors, and productive use of topography.
Both projects represent robust guiding principles for thoughtful transformation of the Lendhafen district - a public library serving as community space along the Lend Canal and an event hall that prioritizes consideration over visibility. These concepts continue to influence urban planning discussions, proving that cities are shaped not only by what gets built, but also by what is convincingly proposed.
The thesis projects have already changed the Lendhafen area by providing a precise vision of how culture, education, and landscape could interweave in this historic district. Because such visions tend to be persistent, they remain in the urban fabric like quiet markers, continuing to influence future development possibilities long after their initial presentation.
