pöt - Single Family Home Addition, Pöttelsdorf / Burgenland

The two individual buildings of the ensemble from 1867 should be recombined as a single unit and offer contemporary living space for a family.

The concept is as simple as it is clear. An addition, built in wood, with a foil roof along the wall to the street, creates a direct connection of the two main buildings, shields the property from noise and southern sun, and defines the inner courtyard more clearly as a protected, open space.
Priority was given to cautious handling of the inventory. The new building maintains a constant, respectful distance from the existing buildings, historical details, such as the natural stone borders surrounding the windows and molding have been integrated and the advantages of old and new emphasize one another through the contrast. New openings in the wall are set as lineal incisions and the façade design with white plaster and black window frames has been continued.

The interior courtyard is bordered on the back by a natural stone retaining wall, which in the niche of a former stall offers space for a protected, open-air seating area.
On forty-six square meters of additional living space, a furniture piece defining the space creates a compact entry situation with wardrobe, while the main area is designed as a generous interior landscape. The room opens to the courtyard along the entire longitudinal side by means of floor-to-ceiling sliding doors, and is lit brightly yet glare-free by soft northern light. The continuous top-lighting strip in the wall facing the street creates an additional lighting accent. The choice of materials in the interior remains intentionally reserved.

Architectural Prize of the Province of Burgenland 2012, Award
Das Beste Haus (The Best House) 2013, Nomination

„What should be done with two, identical, residential objects with gable-ends onto the street, which form an essential element of the street space, but alone are hardly sufficient to meet the demands of contemporary living?
In the present case, two such buildings were connected on the street side with a large living area turned inward toward the courtyard, so that all in all, an offer of spaces commensurate with a small atrium house arose. The older sections of the house were able to take on different residential functions, so that overall, a complementary spatial arrangement emerged.
From the rear-facing stall building, a section of the bay facing the courtyard was opened, creating an intimate courtyard expansion that can be used well in the mild, Burgenland climate.
Here is simple and conclusive evidence that with fantasy and logic, old building volumes can be put to good use, and can also generate a distinctive private sphere.“
Friedrich Achleitner, Jury Architectural Prize of the Province of Burgenland

Project Team: Matthias Raiger
Client: private
Completion: 2011
Images: gerner°gerner plus | Matthias Raiger
www.gernergernerplus.com