The new 4* Panorama Hotel in "Kaltern an der Weinstrasse“
The newly refurbished and extended Hotel is situated in „Kaltern an der Weinstrasse“, amidst one of the most famous vineyard regions in Italy.
The family-run hotel (in third generation) was extended with a public ground floor level that includes a new Hotel-Lobby, a Parlour, a Wine-lounge and 3 restaurants as well as 20 spacious rooms and suites on the 3 upper floors.
noa* managed to win the competition in 2010 taking place under the jury-presidency of one of south Tyrols most noted architects, Walter Angonese. The recently finished Hotel will in future be extended to an overall 3.000m2 in a second building phase which includes the construction of a new wellness-facility containing indoor-outdoorpool and spa-suites.
The entire annex was realized in solid cross-laminated timber, while the actual construction-time amounted to 6 months. The finsihed structure is in line with the „climahouse“ B-criterias and sums up to a total area of 2000m2.
The architecture noa* write stories on, redefine, question and join together old and new.
Arch. Lukas Rungger on his design: „...the intervention comprehends itself as a link between old and new, exterior and interior, cold and warm, top and bottom, before and after... It is an archeological approach whose ambition is to uncompromisingly integrate the old and the new through a fluent juxtaposition of contrasting rooms and spaces."
The placing of local codes and traditions as well as the sorrounding village-like contexts are highly significant to the architectural concept of a "constructive search of clues and traces".
An accurate exposion of ancient walls, reconstructions of mural paintings, the recycling of former wooden roof framework for the newly built sauna, testify and underline the ambition of designers and clients to preserve the character of the house and to make it percievable as a museum-like story telling for all guests of the house.
The project is yet a new module in the steadily growing opus of noa* and finds its roots in the intent to study and revive the so called "genius loci" into a „genuine loci“ redefining the essence of place and space.
This approach is enriched by numerous artefacts of the cultural landscape, such as a reinterpretation of the rythmic contours of vines which have been projected onto the facade as an image of the impressive diversity of the landscape. Wooden balustrades, double pitched canopies and the wooden bris-soleils act as a subtle framework for the different volumetrics.
The lobby in immediate proximity to the main entrance presents itself as an open library and makes the ambitious attempt to amplify the welcome feeling through its openness and wideness. The reception and bar with lounge are situated rightwards, the wine-lounge as well on the left side as the restaurants with buffet and the stube which can be combined in a very flexible way, situated back-to-back with the winter garden on the south side of the building.
The contrasting intimacy of the hotel garden with its garden pool, the impressive panoramic view of the Mendel mountain range in the west, the Kalterer See in the south and the Mountains "Schwarzes und Weisses Horn" have been picked as central themes for the structural dialog with the surroundings. Arch. Lukas Rungger: "...horizontal and vertical lines collide in form and content and delineate rooms which devote themselves to the topic of "Panoramics", making it percievable and experienceable for all senses."
Local synergies are implemented throughout the hotel, an essential attribute of its newly found identity as an evolving hybrid of the past and the future. For this scope the designers of noa* have chosen local timber as the main material for the architecture, the interior design and the product design.
In order to allow for best possible orientation and views from each room and terrace, the existing building got an extension of the top floor as well as an extension towards the north and the south side.
The rythmic shapes of the wooden frames cantiliver into the sorrounding landscape and enclose it. Spaces situated on the edge of the inside and the outside are generated and act as transitory elements. This rhythm allows for the guests to experience the feeling of living in between the inside and the outside, an approach that repeats itself in many of noa*s works.
noa* combines the traditional with the contemporary The symbiotic design is an approach to the idea of a contemporary, contextual typology where existing architectural elements are reinterpreted and as a consequence reused in a contemporary yet timeless design.
The alignment of the rooms and suites on the upper floors allow for best possible privacy and individuality for each guest. Public spaces on the other hand develop predominantly on the ground floor and underline the unique location with its view on the "Kalterer See" lake and the intense sorrounding vegetation.
The vegetal contrast of the typical, local flora celebrates itself through juxtaposition of palm trees and olive trees placed in immediate vicinity to spruce and vines. The local climate allows for both types to flourish, despite their roots of diversity.
Solid cross-laminated wooden structures (spruce) were used for the extension, mainly because of ist numerous advantages which come along with the use of local wood: ecological sustainable building material with wooden fiber insulation on the outer part, positive ecobalance, comfortable indoor climate with wooden walls on the inside, a notable gain of space wich is due to drastically reduced profiles, the remarkable short building period of approximately 6 months and the constantly dry construction site.
The primary material is supplemented by a range of other local materials such as native larch, porphyry-stone and linen textiles. The diversified manufacturing processes of typical local craftmanship is omnipresent.
The interior design The so called "9worlds" define the public spaces on the lower,- ground and top floors and contribute significantly to a new patina of the hotel. The originally rather dark and divided entrance level underwent a major transformation towards more openness and a series of functional, flexibly combinable guest areas with a strong link to the terraces and outer spaces.
The central gallery (axis) serves as a link between main entrance and garden and services the rhythmically arranged areas: westward the library, open reception, backoffice, hotel bar and fireplace lounge and eastwards the wine lounge, buffet, stube, winter garden and restaurant which are arranged radially to allow for optimised guest flows. Rungger adds: "Knotless, naturally oiled oak is the pre-dominant material in this area, too. The wood is complemented by made-to-measure furniture, lamps and fabrics. Within the meaning of the earlier mentioned "search of clues" there are quite a few parts of the building which can be read as traces, for instance the panelled ceiling in the stube and the wrought ironwork ornaments in the buffet area.
Both generous new sun terraces oriented to the south and the west amplify the dialog between the inner and the outer, which is further supported by the fantastic mediterranean climate of Kaltern. Room-high sliding doors made of glass underline this situation, tall plants on all the terraces suggest a vertical green belt. The exisitng sauna, pool and steam-bath on the basement floor are complemented by a new external sauna and a salt grotto. The walls are backlit and revetted with salt, which simulates the microclimate of a natural salt grotto, and allow for separated relaxing and regenerating.
The newly built roof-deck oriented in south-east direction serves as fitness area and invites the guest to enjoy the panoramic view during his sportive activity. All rooms and suites are characterized by many different floor plans, which are to attribute to the originally heterogeneous building, and speak an iterative interior design language. Room-high sliding doors make for well-directed light-flooded rooms, and provide sufficient daylight even for the deeper placed bathrooms.
All of the beds are aligned towards the windows to guarantee an impressive panoramic view over the sorrounding landscape and the lake already in the morning. It is placed once again directly at the point of contact between inside and outside, with open sliding doors where a feeling of sleeping outdoors is suggested.
Each room comes with a wooden window-lounge which invites for relaxing and celebrates its intimacy trough fixed glazing panels. All the bathrooms are revetted with tiles on all walls (even the ceiling) and follow the concept of an open but simultaneously closed spa-grotto which partly is complemented by a free-standing bathtub. Some suites dispose of an integrated mezzanine serving as a gallery with a generous ceiling height of up to 5 metres to reinforce their inclusive and exclusive quality.
The Product Design Objects, furniture, lamps, fabrics, - each element is designed by noa* with lots of passion for detail and according to a design-philosophy of „emergence“, where the whole forms much more than the sum of ist parts. Arch. Lukas Rungger: "For the first time we were able to design and produce each single lamp of the hotel in collaboration with a local manufacturer. In doing so a mix between crude steel, natural linen and oak panels was created to enhance an entirely diversive atmosphere from one space to another.
The made to measure "Panorama-lounge", the multimediaboards and the bespoke coat hooks account for the functional-aesthetic most challenging objects which have been realized by noa* in collaboration with carefully selected, local craftsmen.
In the "public spaces" at entry level one can find selected objects like detached info-boxes made of oak wood for the library, made to measure modular sofa-elements in the bar-lounge (made of natural linen) and suspended canvas-lamps as an ode to the sails and windsurfers of the Kalterer See.
