Burger Rudacs Architekten

Description

In winter 2005, St. Magdalena was covered in a thick, abstract blanket of snow. All that was visible, as if nothing else were there at all, were the mist-veiled serrated mountain peaks. Seeking a dialogue with this apparently all-pervasive and stubbornly dominant richly details mountainscape, a response has been proffered in the form of reduced buildings made of cast concrete. Exposed concrete outer walls are intended as a reflection of the ascending gravel fields all around. The smooth surface was roughed up using stonemason’s methods, while the laitance was removed to uncover the rock aggregate. The grey of the concrete was broken up through a minimal addition of colour so that the light can play across the surfaces, making them appear in changing beige tones depending on the weather and time of day. The stony look is relieved inside by larchwood panelling lining all rooms. This inner wooden shell is echoed in the large window frames in the outer wall. Following an onion-shaped floor plan with a central staircase, the circulation areas then take up the rock motif again with smooth fair-faced concrete walls, floors and ceilings.