​How Archinauten Blurs the Threshold Between Interior and Exterior

As diverse as its portfolio may be, Archinauten brings an aptitude for integrating light and the outdoor experience to a structure’s interior space. The common theme across all of the Austrian firm’s projects is that each one converses fluently with its natural surroundings.

Founded in Linz in 2000 by Wolfgang Mulbacher and Andreas Dworschak, the firm receives 80 percent of its building commissions from architectural competitions. The public and cultural buildings under its belt have established the firm’s keen ability to intuit the everyday, visceral needs of communities; however, Archinauten has also demonstrated a sensitivity to the subtle inflections of private life circa its distinctive residential design. In both areas, the firm excels at planning and maximizing the topography of a site and the subsequent integration of indoor and outdoor space.

House GT (2015)

One need look no further than their most recent project to get a sense of Archinauten’s approach. The House GT is described by the firm as a pavilion, referring to the hillside arrangement of space that sites the primary living area at the top. Like a pavilion, the house accordingly reflects a sense of meditating upon a panoramic view of its rustic environs, which is afforded by the line of windows that make up the façade. The windows also bathe the house in light, controllable by the house’s primary distinguishing feature: an electrically controlled shading system of steel panels that allows the home’s inhabitants to vary both the daylight within and the appearance of the façade.

“The design approach revolved around the idea of cutting out a strip of ‘wild nature’ and ‘cultivating’ it,” explained Archinauten’s Valerie Kerz. Even the pattern of the shutters loosely refers to shadows that the trees and leaves might cast on a vertical surface. “Together with the remaining trees and bushes, we try to double the effect of the shadows. We like the effect that some shadows move with the wind and others do not.”

An outdoor staircase connects the lower level with the upper levels, which open into a hilltop garden. “The steep topography, densely wooded area, and panoramic view were driving parameters for the design and influenced the gestalt from the general arrangement of functions, up to the last details.”

Faux Pli – Spar Gmunden (2012)

On the retail side, Archinauten brought an unexpected, public-facing twist to a supermarket design, taking an already public venue and making it a site for enjoying nature and the outdoors as well as shopping. The project was an extension of an existing building, consisting of a stone alcove that forms the façade of one side of the supermarket with built-in wooden benches offering a view of a lake. The alcove is built to offer shelter and is also equipped with under-seat lighting, offering a quick respite for shoppers or a longer leisure experience for the general public, day or night. Though quite understated and simple, the project represents Archinauten’s take on interpreting public space and utilities for maximal use.

House N (2010)

Like House GT, House N is defined by its natural setting and also achieves the effect of a modern pavilion. It takes advantage of changing light with a west-facing window bringing light into the living space and variously positioned windows and openings taking advantage of light during the rest of the day.

This project nicely embodies Archinauten’s ability to design interior spaces that offer complex and layered private experiences: angled sheer walls seem to echo the hillside plot on which the house is built, carving out the high-ceilinged interiors with form and precision, allowing for visual movement from the upper floor and lower and maximizing interior space.

Welios OÖ Science Center (2011)

This science museum is sited in the historic urban center of the city of Wels, Austria, and has the effect of a sculptural form that opens up to expose its center. The design allows for those viewing from the street to experience a conversation between exterior and interior and drives a journey from the outside in facilitated by walkways that also integrate the landscaped outdoor spaces.

The firm cites the guiding principle of “energy” as a core descriptor of the space, pointing not only to the museum’s programming themes, but indicating that energy generated by the public should flow seamlessly from exterior to interior and vice versa. “Archinauten regard their work as social and cultural service at a very high level of artistic, functional, and technological quality. We try to overlay given programs with additional ones … In the Welios | Science Center Wels, [that] the promenade goes through the building and connects the city and fair for pedestrians is a plus.”