On the southern foothills of the Wienerwald lies this home of a young family on the outskirts of Perchtoldsdorf. The elongated, two-storey structure nestles into the terrain and runs from south to north up the gentle hill.
Towards the street, the building presents itself as a two-part narrow structure. The upper floor with wooden cladding sits on the solid-looking base. The wooden structure is extended by cantilevers to the north and south, and the split-level structure of the interior spaces can already be seen from the outside.
Imagining a villa, one pictures a sprawling complex of buildings and land, echoing dynastic opulence. For this villa commission in a quiet village outside of Vienna, Austria, I was challenged with maximizing the volume of a difficult and narrow plot of land in order to create a modern living space for a two-generation family. The first impression of the construction is of a container as a living space. However, the eye is soon drawn to the discrepancies between the use of ninety degree angles and a slightly deviating complementary angle. The friction between the two angles, used both in the wall structure and the floor plan, can be felt as movement throughout the entire structure. From the intimate entrance to the large open plan living space, this interaction between the perpendicular and the oblique defines a certain perception that pervades the experience of the structure. The outlines and the façade of the new house are reminiscent of the unique and traditional craftwork of Viennese houses. In the last decades, this craftsman work has largely been given over in favor of the standardized use of polystyrene and external plaster.
The relatively small estate with strict zoning regulations has been in the employer’s property for a long time and is covered with a small summerhouse. The aim was to replace the summerhouse by an open, at-grade level residential house for two persons.