Michael Aurel Pichler Architekten . photos: © Michael Aurel Pichler Architekten
The building site of the Petz house is on a hill near the old Benedictine convent in Hohenwart. The town’s historic market is located in the Paartal at the foot of the Klosterberg. Mountain and valley settlements form a topological duality.
All dimensions of the building are derived from a geometric system of proportions. The distances between the elements are evoked in finely tuned number sequences of the golden section and the Fibonacci sequence. The system of measurements permeates the entire design.
Light, shadow and time are essential design themes of the room and can be received as a sensual experience. The two sloping walls of the main facade create an inviting gesture towards the outside space and at the same time contain the terrace space. Inside, the coherent space is zoned by the walls in a richly evocative manner. At the same time, this prevents the formation of flutter echoes.
The sculptural figure of the house can be read differently depending on the side. The building faces the adjacent street. The public space should be strengthened with the architectural means of proportion, structuring of horizontal and vertical elements. The floors are offset outwards by 1.6 cm per floor. An alternation of openings that come close to the facade skin and those that create depth reliefs through their design gives the sun potential to play. The result is a sculptural façade with complex themes that flirts with visual perception. The house looks different on the north side. Here the house opens up selectively through two related round windows to the natural environment. The two openings are framed by side-avant-crops. The resulting space also serves as a skylight to illuminate the hallway. From the inside, the proportions are experienced as an interplay between interior and exterior space, since they are open on both sides to the recess and are thus in line with the view of the room opposite.
The diversity of the two sides leads to a tension between civilized and natural space, which can be experienced particularly in the place of the kitchen table.
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