The Pogusch is a 1059 m high pass in the Austrian Alps. At the top of the pass is the "Steirereck am Pogusch", an offshoot of the Viennese restaurant "Steirereck", which has been among the world's top gastronomic establishments for many decades, surrounded by its own farmland. With the project of the conversion and extension, gourmet chef Heinz Reitbauer and his wife Birgit wanted to show how innovative and sustainable a gastronomic business can be run.
The challenge was to find a harmonious and contemporary solution for a situation characterized by the experience of nature and a highly sophisticated catering business.Through various interventions, the pre-existing buildings and additions now form a village ensemble on the scale of rural development in the mountain landscape.
The new striking buildings are for the most part built into the hillside. They blend in as eye-catchers in the surroundings of nature and the traditional built environment. The pre-existing buildings – kitchen, lodging, stone house, wooden house as well as the farm – were complemented by relevant new ones. These include extensive new catering areas such as the "Salettl" for fine dining, the fire kitchen (with bar, grill, steam counter, farm store, regulars' table), the distillery, the kitchens with extensive preparation and staff areas, a kitchen garden in a small glass house, special staff and guest accommodations as well as the extension of visible and invisible infrastructure. The large glass house is a hybrid of advanced greenhouse and living space that atmospherically fertilize each other. Here there are integrated sleeping berths as well as a wellness zone with a sauna and a fireplace room.
PPAG architects have also designed numerous details and furniture, which give the project the dimension of an ultra-modern Gesamtkunstwerk – and transport the visitor into an unusual mountain world.