Residential building KUK Location: Hainfeld, Lower Austria Photographer: Mark Sengstbratl Year: 2014
Starting point for this project was the desire for a closed and introverted building structure that provides protection and security. The requirement to design a one-story building and the high demand of rooms made it possible to realize a u-shaped atrium around the existing summer house. The guest unit, the indoor pool as well as the residential area were aligned one after another along the property line. Therefore the building functions like a huge wall that creates an intimate courtyard granting protection and security. The concept of a protecting building structure is supported and exaggerated by the roadside panel with natural stone. The emerging and moving roofscape came into being partly from the strict building law partly from the different ceiling heights. Thus, the pool area consciously was designed higher in order to create a pleasant sense of space and to grant a balance of proportions. While the guest unit and the pool area were executed in solid construction with fair-faced concrete, the living area was built in wood frame construction with a larch wood facade. The building was designed as a low-energy house and is equipped with a heat pump and a controlled ventilation system with heat recovery.
