Gordana Brandner-Gruber

The architect Gordana Brandner-Gruber was born in Munich and grew up in Carinthia. Since November 2020 she has been the organisational and artistic director at DOMENIG STEINHAUS. Following her training at the Hetzendorf fashion school in Vienna, her passion for building culture education was ignited during her architecture studies at the Vienna University of Technology, where she also taught as an assistant and lecturer at the Institute of Urban Planning. In the 2000s she founded the one-woman office “starke Orte” (www.starke-orte.at). Here she has since devoted herself to the diverse facets of visualising and creating architectural culture. Current themes related to high-quality building are examined and explored in a range of formats such as exhibitions, publications, excursions and various media. For several years she co-curated the series AUFBAUEND on ORF Kärnten with the Chamber of Civil Engineers and KALT UND WARM – Baukultur in Seen- und Thermenregionen im Alpen-Adria Raum.

The 2015 refugee movement motivated her to provide active care and education for refugees. She completed the university course on Inclusion Support for Refugees and Asylum-Seekers at the University of Klagenfurt, was a lecturer at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and initiated projects concerning the activation of empty property and asylum-seekers.

She is involved in various initiatives and associations related to the topics of urban development, building culture and inclusion.