Hasta La Ideas

This asymmetric Alpine cabin by Austrian architect Peter Jungmann has been named Ufogel because its owners think it looks like a cross between a UFO and a “vogel” – the German word for bird (+ slideshow).

Located on a grassy slope in the East Tyrolian village of Nussdorf, the small shingle-clad structure is a rentable holiday home that sleeps up to four people, but contains only 45-square-metres of floor space.

The building is raised off the ground on metal feet, but is otherwise built entirely from wood. Larch shingles clad the outer walls and roof, while the interior surfaces are lined with timber panels to create a distinctive smell.

A gentle staircase leads up into the main floor of the house, which features a small kitchen and a dining table that can seat between six and eight people at a time.

A small lounge area filled with cushions sits half a storey up, beside a long window that angles upwards to frame views towards the peaks of the Lienz Dolomites.

Stairs continue up to a bedroom level with a curved ceiling, containing both a double bed and a separate bunk. The shower and washroom are also located on this floor.

Underfloor heating helps to distribute warmth throughout the space, but can be supplemented by a wood-burning stove.

Here’s some more information from the Ufogel website:

Ufogel

Explore the difference in our house UFOGEL in Nussdorf/Debant near Lienz in East Tyrol!

Our exclusive and bizarre holiday house – Ufogel in the picturesque Nussdorf near Lienz has an unusual architecture. It is built on stilts and floating above the meadow in a peaceful and unspoiled nature. The panoramic windows offers a unique view of the breathtaking Lienz Dolomites, the Val Pusteria impressive mountain peaks and the so-called “Carinthian Gate”.

Your exclusive holiday home for your unforgettable holiday is a compact building, made entirely of wood, both inside as well as outside. The smell of wood flows through the room. A generous, as the only access bridge-like connection to the seemingly floating building. Almost like at home standing in the entrance area with slippers.

Following you will find the kitchen with a spacious kitchen, sink and hob. A stove with optional hotplate complements the kitchen and spreads warmth throughout the house. The cantilevered table can comfortably accommodate 6-8 people. For more generosity, the seat can be folded down. The huge panoramic window with a lawn on the mezzanine bridge the gap to the surrounding nature. A feeling like the convenience of Inside Outside. Natural materials, coupled with quality products – the best of the region. Substances (Villgrater nature) not far distant from the production Ufogel give more softness and comfort. Whether you relax comfortably watch TV, play, sleep, cook or just want to switch off – nothing seems impossible.

Upstairs there is a spacious double bed in pine, which can be transformed into a bed when needed. Another, separate bunk offers the special recreational value for two. An open glass cabinet with a view into the shower creates sufficient space for luggage. The barrier-free bathroom, overlooking the East Tyrolean mountains makes the shower experience. The Ufogel has a floor heating, which can optionally be supplemented by the stove. A refrigerator and a storage box with several areas are available. For hot summer days, a fully automatic sun protection system is installed, which can be operated manually. Experience the extraordinary – in Ufogel.

The post Alpine holiday cabin by Peter Jungmann
has metal feet and a beak appeared first on Dezeen.

Vienna design collective Mostlikely modelled this Alpine lodge on the wooden agricultural barns of surrounding mountain villages.

Mostlikely wanted to design a building that would be suited to a modern family lifestyle, but that also wouldn’t look out of place amongst the traditional architecture of its locality in Kitzbühel, Austria.

“This coherent architectural landscape allows for a romantic identity as well as regional authenticity and serves as the layer stone of the tourism industry in this area,” said the designers.

Rather than replicating the design of the local houses, they took the form of an old barn as the model for the house’s shape and appearance.

“The typology of the barn with its brick-built, massive socket that contrasts its open hayloft seemed to suit today’s needs better than the traditionally poor-lit farmers house of the old days,” added the designers.

Named The Barn, the three-storey house comprises a base of bare concrete rather than brickwork, and a wooden upper section with a gently sloping roof that helps prevent a large build-up of snow.

The architects collaborated with sculptor Stefan Buxbaum on the design of the concrete, using a corrosive chemical to engrave images of flowers and fishes into the surface to reference the “myths of the mountains”.

Living and dining rooms occupy the middle floor of the building and include double-height spaces with views up to the exposed wooden roof beams. A wood-burning stove sits between the kitchen and dining room, while glass doors lead out a large balcony terrace.

A metal staircase ascends to a top-floor mezzanine and descends to three bedrooms located on the ground floor.

Photography is by Mostlikely and Maik Perfahl.

Here’s a project description from Mostlikely:

The Barn – Edition Kitzbühel 2012. Living like a wild emperor. Staged Authenticity.

To build a one family house in the region of Kitzbühel architect Mark Neuner and the team of mostlikely took a better part of the design process as a research quest on how to build in a contemporary way without neglecting the historic traditions. Questions with great significance in an area where tradition not only weighs heavily on old houses but hardly any new houses that are more daring are to be found at all.

This coherent architectural landscape allows for a romantic identity as well as regional authenticity and serves as the layer stone of the tourism industry in this area. To respect and preserve the substance of the idyllic mountain village Going am Wilden Kaiser (the name of the mountain which literally translates to “Wild Emperor”) mostlikely chose to stage the well-known and proven in a new way.

The ideal model

Numerous walks through the environment and a deep dive into the history as well as the cliches associated with the area helped to analyse, measure and document the surroundings. These physical and mental excursions would then lead to a visualised outline of the plan that was full of variety and complexity. This way of “working in pictures” at the beginning of the design process enabled us to get a stronger connection with the space. This approach eventually led mostlikely to the barn instead of the traditional house to play the model for the further development. The typology of the barn with its brick-built, massive socket that contrasts its open hayloft seemed to suit today’s needs better than the traditionally poor-lit farmers house of the old days.

Concrete Flowers (or Fable and Flora)

The point of culmination for the idea of the barn was the socket. Instead of brick, concrete was the material of choice and the magic could take place: flowers and creatures that would slightly remind the myths of the mountains would grow – thanks to a corrosion technique – on the especially designed and each separately cast concrete panels. Moreover in an almost manic cooperation with the sculptor Stefan Buxbaum mostlikely was able to create panels of concrete almost as light as a feather so that even the automatic garage door would open and thus be integrated invisibly in the facade of the building.

Proven but progressive

In the living areas of the house especially designed furniture, walls made from exposed concrete and most prominently the wooden roof timbering that would dominate the shape and feel of the upper floors would connect the shapes of the past with modern living styles just naturally without insinuating.

Unpretentious and natural as a barn should be, a new typology of housing in the mountains was born: “Scheune Edition Kitzbühel 2012” its name.

The post House in the Alps by Mostlikely
based on an agricultural barn appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture studio Juri Troy has designed this eco-friendly timber house as a family home in rural Austria (+ slideshow).

The wooden box of House Under the Oaks by Austrian studio Juri Troy is supported by six columns as it projects out from a hilltop, in the countryside west of Vienna.

Photovoltaic panels on the roof and a ground-source heat pump provide the wooden building with an ecological source of energy, while natural insulation keeps in the warmth.

“The whole structure was done in prefabricated timber with all ecological wood with wool insulation of up to 60 centimetres,” said the architects. “It is a new prototype for affordable living on minimal energy in Austria.”

The single-floor dwelling is entered through an L-shaped veranda to the back, which is fenced in by wooden slats.

The veranda provides access to the open-plan kitchen and dining area via a row of full-height sliding glass windows, as well as a separate door leading to a wide corridor with built-in storage space.

A bathroom is located at the centre of the house, behind which a bedroom is positioned with access to the veranda.

The entire interior is finished in local wood coated in a white pigmented oil.

Ribbon windows encompass the front room, offering views out to the surrounding countryside.

Photography is by the architects.

Here is some more information from the architects:

House under the oaks

The house under the oaks is a low budget passive house concept developed for an Austrian family.

With a minimum footprint and a wide outstretching wooden box on six columns it offers a living area of about 100 square metres.

The whole structure was done in prefabricated timber with all ecological wood with wool insulation of up to 60 cm.

The interior is done all in local wood as well with a simple white pigmented oil cover.

A heat pump with ground collector, a controlled ventilation system with heat exchange and photovoltaic panels on the roof offer a perfect energy concept with a minimum of required external energy – which is provided by eco electricity.

Like this it is a new prototype for affordable living on minimal energy standard in Austria.

The post Passive timber house in Austria
by Juri Troy Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Roughly hewn concrete gives a rocky texture to the walls of this Alpine holiday home by Austrian studio Marte.Marte Architects (+ slideshow).

The four-storey Mountain Cabin was constructed by Marte.Marte Architects on the side of a hillside in Laterns, Austria, and boasts far-stretching views of the surrounding mountains and forests.

Two rectangular openings wrap around the rectilinear body of the house, dividing it into two and creating a sheltered outdoor terrace on the upper-middle floor. This level functions as the building’s entrance and can be accessed via a staircase at the rear.

A second staircase spirals down from this floor to bedrooms and storage areas on the lower levels and up to an open-plan kitchen and living room on the uppermost floor.

Smooth concrete walls and ceilings are left exposed inside the house and contrast with the rugged surface of the facade. Floors, doors and window frames are oak, as is much of the furniture.

Square windows are dotted around each elevation and are the only other interruption to the clean lines of the facade.

“The openings punched into the double-walled concrete shell are transformed into framed landscape paintings,” says the studio, describing the views from the windows.

We’ve published a few houses in the mountains of Austria, including a boxy concrete house surrounded by sloping meadows and a cabin built from locally sourced spruce, fir and elm. See more houses in Austria.

Other winter retreats we’ve featured include a snowboarding cabin in Canada and a contemporary Alpine chalet. See more winter retreats on Dezeen.

Photography is by Marc Lins.

Here’s a project description from Marte.Marte Architects:

Mountain cabin in Laternser valley

At the edge of a wooded ravine, beneath the imposing wooden house of the Catholic Community of Sisters, the small tower building rises from the steep hillside.

Striking and modest in appearance, it stretches up out of a small hollow situated on a narrow path along the edge of the forest.

The only change made to the hillside is the driveway and the terrain has been left in its original form.

Fitting into the landscape as if it were a barn, the building, which is a fine example of the homogeneous use of materials, in this case, carefully hewn rough concrete, stands out against the meadow green and winter white. Its ashy-gray colour only contrasts slightly with the heavy oak front doors and the anthracite-coloured handrails blend in with the branches of the surrounding forest. As if they were punched into the walls, the square windows of different sizes are spread out across the walls, and their full effect is only achieved at the corners.

The integration of the outer surfaces requested by the client is a kind of artifice. At the entry level, which is accessible via a flight a steps, the structure narrows down to two supporting corner columns, which not only provides guests with the unique opportunity to look through the building while at the same time enjoying a panorama view of the surrounding landscape, the whole time protected from the elements, but also lends the entrance a sense of significance.

Inside the column, a spiral staircase connects the living area on the upper level with the two more private areas on the lower level, where the bedrooms and relaxation areas are interlocked like a puzzle. Semantically speaking, this gesture of the tower creates archetypes of fortified structures and abstract computer figures in your mind’s eye, making the tower seem familiar and strange at one and the same time.

Inside, the openings punched into the double-walled concrete shell are transformed into framed landscape paintings by wide, matte solid oak window frames that do not take up much wall space. These framed windows direct the guest’s attention to the prominent mountain chain, the gentle slopes and the dense forest grove.

Besides the raw concrete surfaces and the untreated oak floors, doors and fixtures, the black metal surfaces complement the harmonious, austere combination of materials. The client and architects haven’t built a flimsy holiday house, but instead a place of retreat that will remain standing for generations, despite any forthcoming changes of climate and landscape.

Client: private
Planning: Marte.Marte Architekten
Location: 6830 Laterns-Vorarlberg-Austria
Site area: 485.4 sqm
Gross floor area: 102.6 sqm
Floor area: 87 sqm
Built-up area: 43.03 sqm

The post Mountain Cabin by
Marte.Marte Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Sloping meadows and woodland thickets are all that surrounds this boxy concrete house in the mountains of western Austria by local studio OLKRÜF (+ slideshow).

Haus Rüscher is located around a kilometre away from the nearest village and OLKRÜF designed the house as two self-contained buildings that impact as little possible on the surrounding countryside. “It was important for the client to build a very compact house that would not spoil the local landscape by sealing over the top surface with unnecessary concrete, gravel or tarmac,” the architects explain.

The outer shell of each building comprises a single casting of concrete, designed to reference the solid volumes of the surrounding mountains. “The most challenging part of the project was the single-piece construction,” architect John Read told Dezeen.

The larger of the two buildings contains the living rooms and bedrooms, while the smaller structure is a guesthouse with a sauna and shower room in the basement.

In the main house, split levels differentiate between the living room and kitchen on the ground floor, while upstairs the children’s room sits lower than the master bedroom to allow enough ceiling height for bunk beds.

Exposed concrete walls are sandblasted to create smooth interior surfaces on the lower level. Floors are lined with elm boards, which also clad the walls and ceilings in the bedrooms.

Large windows pierce the concrete facade on different sides to give residents clear views across the mountain and forest landscape.

“The most successful thing for us was managing not to compromise on the design from start to finish,” added Read. “That is something that rarely happens in the industry, but in this case the final result is almost identical to the original concept. Partly this was due to our perseverance and partly it was due to the client believing and sharing in our vision.”

See more Austrian houses on Dezeen, including one that appears to climb down a hill.

Photography is by Adolf Bereuter.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Haus Rüscher

Location

As solitary solid masses embedded in the landscape sits the project Haus R. It hangs on a steep incline at almost 1100 m in altitude and a kilometre from the nearest village of Schnepfau. To the north, the houses back on to thick woodland that cover the rest of the hill, in all other directions lay pasture lands. Because of the elevated position the house enjoys incredible views in every direction, especially of the Kanisfluh mountain and the valleys of the Bregenzerwald.

The sparsely populated landscape is reflected in the simple form and basic materials chosen for the design. The double shell is constructed without any horizontal construction joints. The entire outer wall was constructed as one solid piece. In this way the solid concrete hull corresponds to the simple mass of the surrounding mountains. The grassland grows right to the edge of the building to emphasize the concept of the house as a rock emerging from the ground naturally. In addition, a small guest house was included in the design that abides by the same rules of design. It compliments and emphasises the first by creating a ‘natural rock formation’ rather than a solitary monument.

Circulation/Rooms

It was important for the client to build a very compact house that would not spoil the local landscape by sealing over the top surface with unnecessary concrete, gravel or tarmac. The top surface surrounding the building had to remain as natural as possible.

It was also important that house had a generous living space for entertaining and accommodating guests, but should not be too big for everyday use. As well as providing open space, the design had to incorporate smaller, more intimate areas for when people wished to relax in peace. The guest house and the separation of the sleeping rooms using split levels, are a result of these thought processes.

From the mountain track leads a set of stairs between the two houses, which are both entered from the rear, so that the entrances are not visible from the track.

The ground floor is shared into separate zones through different room heights in the living and eating area, the kitchen and the circulation paths. The high ceilings in the living space allow incredible views in all directions. In the west, the rooms entire height and width is glazed to give a panoramic view of the surroundings. The lower kitchen area is orientated towards the open living room, above which a vertical air space flows through all the levels. The first floor and cellar levels are reached through a set of floating wooden stairs that pierce the concrete of the outer wall, supporting themselves on one side only.

Above: site plan

The differing room heights also resulted from the needs of the two very different sleeping rooms. The lower sleeping room was designed for the children, and was intended to be able to accommodate a double bed or bunk bed system and therefore utilises an intentionally higher format. Latching on to the side of this room is the slightly bigger main bedroom, which has a normal room height and enjoys views of the Kanisfluh. In addition, the guest house bedroom replicates the feel and elegant style of the main house but in miniature. In the cellar, beside the storage rooms and the technical room, there is a small sauna and separate shower room.

Above: ground floor plan

Materials and Construction

The 65cm thick hull of the building was formed in two parts: The outer shell and the core insulation managed to avoid the usual visible construction joints by being constructed from one continuous piece of concrete over 9.5 meters in height. Connecting on the inside, the internal walls are also constructed in one solid piece, with the interior walls, for the most part, echoing this process by casting several walls straight through multiple levels in a single piece. The floors are then set into place afterwards by drilling metal into the triple height finished wall to provide the basis for the supporting structure.

Above: first floor plan

All the exposed concrete areas in Haus R have a sandblasted finish, the floor is fitted out in Elm and in the cellar the floor is finished in polished screed. By contrast, the two bedrooms (and the guest house) are completely clad in wood. The windows in these rooms are flush with the outside of the building whereas the windows on the ground floor are flush with the inside of the building, this was to allow the inclusion of sun blinds that prevent overheating in during the summer. The jamb is constructed entirely from concrete all the way up to the beginning of the window frame.

Above: section

Both roofs were designed inverted. As an important fifth facade, they were finished with a layer of large format prefabricated concrete slabs. The house is also fitted out with a ground source heat pump that provides the majority of the energy for the under floor heating all year round.

Above: front elevation

The thermal mass of the building is exceptional for its size due to the buildings extensive use of exposed concrete within the insulation shell. This provides stable warmth through the winter months and a consistent cooling effect during the hot summer days.

Above: side elevation

The construction of the building was very complicated and challenging for the many reasons; the concrete walls were cast in one single piece which was experimental for both the builders and the architects. The mountain weather was unpredictable and often extreme. Site access was difficult for the heavy construction vehicles. And the large format windows, that were inserted into the concrete jamb, had very little margin for error.

Above: rear elevation

However, the house, from the initial design to the finished building hardly changed at all. This was only possible due to an intense and detailed communication between the architect, the construction company and the client. An important element in this process was the guest house.

Above: side elevation

It was constructed using the exact same methods and materials as the main building and provided a useful proving ground. In this way all parties were able to evaluate and optimize the experimental construction methods for the main building, ensuring a very high quality finish.

The post Haus Rüscher
by OLKRÜF appeared first on Dezeen.