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-outdoor-pool 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, back-office, 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.