Sogen. Stadtmühle

The Stadtmühle stands in the Orpheumgasse in Graz’s Lend district. This former mill is now a protected building in the city’s fourth borough. The site dates back to when mills lined the banks of the Mühlgang canal. The building’s industrial past remains visible in its structure. Architect Hans Gangoly led the conversion with Ida Pirstinger and Therese Janeschitz-Kriegl. Builder Albin Sorger commissioned the work in the late 1990s. The mill’s conversion won three awards in 2000. The Piranesi Award recognised its design in international circles. Austria’s Bauherrenpreis honoured Sorger’s work as a client. The GerambRose praised the building’s sensitive renewal. These prizes highlight how the project balanced old and new. The jury praised the way living space was woven around the preserved atrium. Inside, a glass-roofed atrium lets daylight flood the wooden structure. The original milling machinery’s timber frame still stands among the flats. A garage runs beneath the canal’s flow on the ground floor. The living quarters circle the atrium in several storeys. The building shows how industrial heritage can be given new life.