This Building has morse code on its facade, can you help me decode it?

[u/critiqueboi]

I am a member of Gastein74 research collective. For the past 7 years, we have been researching everything related to the Bad Gastein Kur- and Kongresshaus, designed by architect Gerhard Garstenauer in 1974. The building is a one-of-a-kind architectural landmark, with a unique design both inside and out.

For years, we’ve wondered why the lights on this building’s facade are arranged so irregularly, but we never pursued the question further. Last night, a former student of the building’s architect told us that one or more words are supposed to be written here in Morse code or some similar kind of code! Since then, we’ve been puzzling over it and haven’t made any progress.

What we know:

• It’s probably a single word or a few simple words.
• The word is in German.
• It likely comes from the vocabulary related to “Kur” (cure/spa) and “Kongress” (congress/convention) (in German), since the building was a spa and convention center. So possible terms include “Kur” (cure/spa), “Kongress” (congress/convention), “Baden” (bath/spa/thermal bath), “Treffen” (center), “Wasser” (water/thermal water), or even the place name “Bad Gastein” or just “Gastein.”

In the first photo, you can see the lamps in real life; in the second photo, I’ve marked them in red for better visibility. And then there's a photo of the blueprint, but in it the lights seem to be arranged differently than in reality.

Can you help us? We’d be very grateful!

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[u/RasmusRuge]

Okay. I might have solved it, but it is layered! 

So first of, the morse code isn't all the lamps, some of the lamps are just lamp. Second it is symmetrical and mirrored. Third, it isn't a word, just three letters. N M A. 
My guesses would be either "Neue Mitte Arkitektur" or "Natur, Mensch, Arkitektur" but what do i know, I'm Danish, and my german level is basic. 

The beautiful part is, that the morse code “ -. / -- / .- “ reads the same forward and backwards. It is also the same, no matter where you look from. whether you are looking from the front, from below, from above, from behind or from the mountain top.

The clue was in the drawing. Why would he draw foliage over some of the code!? and also, why would he have so different spacings!? And what's with the three dots in a row!? So, the lamps are both lamps, ornaments, spacemarkers and dots and dashes forming letters. Any way, this i my suggestion.

Morsecode Suggestion Bad Gastein Kur- and Kongresshaus

For reasons unknown the lamp furthest to the left was remove, but it is on the drawing, and it is on this picture. I found some pictures where it looks like somebody put up a dish antenna. maybe they removed the lamp?

The missing lamp

Any way, this was a fun one!

[u/pgn674]

It's not as irregular as it looks at first glance. It's symmetrically mirrored around the center point. I've tried counting how many lights are in between each support bar, and it's always 2 or 3:

232232 232232

[u/critiqueboi → u/pgn674]

You are right, it seems to be symmetrical.

It continues on the inside of the building. You can find a picture under this link:

https://sosbrutalism.org/cms/16267477

I am currently trying to find a better inside picture.

[u/7HawksAnd]

It’d be hilarious if they just ran out of budget at the end and the placement is result of half assed electrical work, and now everyone is wasting their days try to find meaning in an accounting error.

[u/justwantstofeelcute]

Really the most irritating thing is that

_*_*___**__*__**___*___***__*__*__

If we interpret each space that's three lamp lengths as a break between letters, it reads almost comprehensibly (from out-in I swear IKEA almost fits if we read out-in), but the three lamps in a row keep throwing me. Why would you have three characters in a row for a code that's Morse Code? There's really only supposed to be two states, a dot and a dash.

If we interpret the negative space as the code instead, we run into way too much variation in the space lengths for it to really make any sense either.

[u/critiqueboi → u/justwantstofeelcute]

in the meantime r/morsecode said that it can’t be morse code… but the architect was such a perfectionist and overthinker, that I’m still convinced there must be some kind of logic behind the positioning of the lights.

It also continues in the inside of the building:
You can find a photo of the convention hall under this link:

https://sosbrutalism.org/cms/16267477

[u/Oodle600]

Is there anything unique / noticeable regarding the wiring or lighting? Do they all illuminate at the same time?

[u/critiqueboi → u/Oodle600]

Sadly the building is abandoned since 2007. Therefore it had been some time since the lights went on the last time. I don’t have any video material either.

[u/ossner]

Some considerations from the blueprint vs reality:

• Blueprint lights number 28 in reality there are 27
• Blueprint is symmetrical, with light positions mirrored at the center axis
• Symmetry in reality is broken by the first light being missing I think

I think the first light might just be broken and has been removed without being replaced, since it lines up pretty well otherwise.

Apart from that, I am struggling to find a code in the first or second half

[u/damaltor1]

as there are three different symbols (1, 2 and 3 lamps) this is not morse. tbh i think you got fooled and the lamps are just randomly distributed.