Adambräu

The Adambräu building was designed in the 1920s by Tyrolean architect Lois Welzenbacher. The former brewery is now known as the “aut. Architektur und Tirol” and serves as the official archive for architectural art of the University of Innsbruck. Visible from afar and perfectly in tune with the proportions of the building, the lettering “ADAMBRÄU” is set on the west façade. The geometrically constructed capital letters are completely in line with the typographic trends of the time.

This is a wonderful example of how typeface and architecture complement and enrich each other. The deep horizontal stroke of the “A” refers to the Art Deco era, while the geometric lines remind informed viewers of “Futura”, a typeface created at this time. The era of Constructivism, for which this typeface also stands, happened during a time of close exchange with Russian artists such as El Lissitzky or Kasimir Malevich. Back then, the European idea was thought bigger and reached as far as the Urals. On the roof of the building, there is a second lettering, which shines red out into the city.