The walls and floor are predominantly covered in small white tiles but sections of concrete are left exposed across the walls and ceiling. The floorboards are raised above the foundations on adobe bricks to make way for underfloor heating pipes. An additional set of wooden shutters slides in front of the glass to conceal the area when it is not in use. An alcove lined with a black oblong cushion forms a seating area within the bare concrete wall. Concrete walls are left bare inside the house and retain warmth from the underfloor heating and fireplace in the open-plan living room. A white kitchen island and cupboards occupy one side of the space, with a bright green cabinet positioned against a painted black wall. This terrace spans almost the entire length of one side of the building and is accessed by a set of vast sliding glass doors. Site plan – click for larger imageFloor plan – click for larger imageSection – click for larger image Related story: Strips of local spruce clad Haus Feurstein by Innauer‐Matt ArchitektenThe new dwelling, designed to blend with the agricultural buildings of the region, replaces a dilapidated farmhouse owned by the client’s family for several generations. Berardo Bader Architekten designed the wooden chalet for a grassy site surrounded by wooden barns in Kaltschmieden, Doren. «The few, but precisely placed and well-proportioned openings in extraordinary formats are only noticed on a second glance,» said the architects. According to the architects, the living space, garage, attic and terrace of the new structure «melt into a compact volume under a homogenous board skin.»
A large terrace is set into one side of the building under a section of the roof, so as not to complicate the simple rectangular plan, but a small chimney stack located low on the pitched roof reveals its location. The en-suite bathroom for the master bedroom has white fittings and furniture with softly rounded edges, and a large wooden-framed window that overlooks the field. «The longish, seemingly composed building with a classic ridged roof anticipates a farming building.»
The house was built by hand by the Dornbirn-based architects using a mixture of locally-sourced wood from the Doren forest and timber salvaged from the original farmhouse. «The exact placement of the building, even if it seems unspectacular, is supposed to reactivate a traditional building form – without falling into the abyss of a superficial folk-like architecture,» said the design team.
