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Haus h Austria : Architecture

Contemporary Upper Austrian Property design by Caramel Architekten

21 Jul 2009

house h – single family house, linz, Austria

Date built: 2003

Design: Caramel Architekten ; interior friedrich stiper

Photos : H. Hurnaus

Upper Austria House

Prologue

Already in 2000, the client completed a project successfully together with Caramel and Fritz Stiper: the conversion of the linz- based advertising company “reklamebüro”.

The planning team won the federal prize of the region upper austria in the category architecture for this project.

This successful conversion made the client rely on the team for the project to come: a single family house for the client’s family (2 adults, 3 children). The interior design was again in the hands of Fritz Stiper.

Just 46 m² “built”:

The architects were already involved in the process of choosing the right site for the house: it turned out to be a slope on the hill “Pöstlingberg”, north of the city center of Linz. The breathtaking view over the city and the Alps justified the high price for this south east orientated lot.. dued to this fact the site (820 m²) had to be used as efficiently as possible. Therefore thebuilding was set (on 3 of 4 sides) to the limits which define the buildable space on the lot (underneath the ground , the building even reaches further to the edges between private and public space, i.e. the street.) Hence the form of the lot was the decisive parameter for placing the building on the site.

The vertical addition of functions within the building was another feature of maximizing the outdoor space: only 46 m² of the lot can not be used as an outdoor space. The ground floor – orientated to the garden – is covered by a spacious terrace on top (larch wood deck), the (13,5m long) cantilever protects the childrens’ playground from rain and too much sun.

vertical addition of functions

The main entrance of the building is situated on the west side on the middle floor. From there, you can reach the lower floor/ground floor, which is embedded in the slope opening up to the garden. This floor contains the master bedroom, 2 bathrooms and further 3 bedrooms for the family’s children. A fitness area, a room with a workbench and a wine cellar top off the use of this storey.

The middle floor, so to say the “central knot” of the building functions, contains the main entrance with foyer and wardrobe, wc, the kitchen and the glazed childrens’ (indoor) playroom. A horizontal window, accompaning the workbench of the kitchen, allows the cooking adult to have a look at the covered outdoor playground as well.

The horizontal twist of the upper floors in an 135° angle creates space for the big terrace which opens up to the city.

From the middle floor you reach the living area (half a storey up) with its fantastic view over Linz and the Alps.

Another half-storey up you enter the cosy lounge zone and a built in office space. The whole south fassade is glazed, only accentuated by a slender steel construction (15 cm in diameter) as part of the construction of the house (reinforced concrete).

photos : h.hurnaus

The skin
As a cladding a polyurethan foil was used, which was sprayed on a layer of OSB (orientated strand board). This method led to a homogenic surface (roof, walls, bottom of cantilevered living room) and a reduction of details.

The garden fassade can be closed completely by a curtain wall with stable units and sliding doors made out of hpl (high pressure laminates)-boards.

Upper Austrian Property – Building Information

Architects: Caramel Architekten ZT – Gmbh – Günter Katherl, Martin Haller, Ulrich Aspetsberger
Interior design: Atelier Tummelplatz – Friedrich Stiper
Structural design and construction: Werkraum Wien Zt Gmbh
Garden design: Doris Pühringer

Planning phase: Jul 2002 – Apr 2003
Completion: Mar 2004

Haus h images / information from Caramel Architekten

Location: Linz, Austria, central Europe