bogenfeld architektur: House St. Peter in der Au  - best architects 18

bogenfeld architektur

House St. Peter in der Au

best architects 18

single family homes

Place

Austria

Photos

Violetta Wakolbinger

Description

The clients – a young family – had two requirements right from the start: they wanted their house to be made of wood and they wanted it to win the Lower Austrian award for building in timber. We gladly take on challenges like this one. The property is part of an established residential estate but is very large, formerly the site of the parsonage. The generous size provides a protective buffer zone and a casual distance from the neighbours. Accordingly, the house makes no direct reference to the surrounding buildings but takes its cue instead from the topography, the shape of the plot, the family’s needs and of course the sun. It is therefore perched quite freely in the middle of the site: a small house with a large roof. Except for the foundation slab (there is no cellar), the core containing the bathrooms, and the staircase, all the elements are in fact made of wood. The floor plan is simple and resilient, allowing for the upper and lower floors to be easily converted into separate apartments. This brings a degree of flexibility that is not only very important to the clients and to us but is in fact essential in particular for single-family homes if they are not to quickly become too big and rigid – as happens much too often.