A forest, a spectacular landscape and a steep slope are the ingredients in which are supported this concrete cabin, which is an active part of the surroundings through its elegant materials combination and its relation with the landscape.

This cabin is built through the materials combination and the way of relating it with the area: in this way the concrete, with its rough appearance, is used for being mixed with the snow. Besides, the oak wood is used in the windows frames and in the doors. With that it is achieved the visually connection between the building and the dense forest which acts as a background.

The inner rooms are projected in a way that the surrounding landscape is an active part of the furnitures. The windows frames, made in oak wood, achieves that the different views to the valley are seen by the guests as real time paintings.

Memoria del proyecto

At the edge of a wooded ravine, beneath the imposing wooden house of the Catholic Community of Sisters, the small tower building rises from the steep hillside. Striking and modest in appearance, it stretches up out of a small hollow situated on a narrow path along the edge of the forest. The only change made to the hillside is the driveway and the terrain has been left in its original form.

Fitting into the landscape as if it were a barn, the building, which is a fine example of the homogeneous use of materials, in this case, carefully hewn rough concrete, stands out against the meadow green and winter white. Its ashy-gray colour only contrasts slightly with the heavy oak front doors and the anthracite-coloured handrails blend in with the branches of the surrounding forest. As if they were punched into the walls, the square windows of different sizes are spread out across the walls, and their full effect is only achieved at the corners.

The integration of the outer surfaces requested by the client is a kind of artifice. At the entry level, which is accessible via a flight a steps, the structure narrows down to two supporting corner columns, which not only provides guests with the unique opportunity to look through the building while at the same time enjoying a panorama view of the surrounding landscape, the whole time protected from the elements, but also lends the entrance a sense of significance. Inside the column, a spiral staircase connects the living area on the upper level with the two more private areas on the lower level, where the bedrooms and relaxation areas are interlocked like a puzzle. Semantically speaking, this gesture of the tower creates archetypes of fortified structures and abstract computer figures in your mind’s eye, making the tower seem familiar and strange at one and the same time.

Inside, the openings punched into the double-walled concrete shell are transformed into framed landscape paintings by wide, matte solid oak window frames that do not take up much wall space. These framed windows direct the guest’s attention to the prominent mountain chain, the gentle slopes and the dense forest grove. Besides the raw concrete surfaces and the untreated oak floors, doors and fixtures, the black metal surfaces complement the harmonious, austere combination of materials. The client and architects haven’t built a flimsy holiday house, but instead a place of retreat that will remain standing for generations, despite any forthcoming changes of climate and landscape.

Text.- Marina Hämmerle
 

CREDITS.-

Architect.- Marte.Marte Architects.
Collaborators.- Amann Bau (building contractor), Weikelstorfer (concrete works), Frick Paul (structural consultant), Hartmann (windows), Bernhard Weithas (construction physics), Tectum (flat roof), Matt Gerold (furnishings/interior fittings), Gangl Manfred (heating/Sanitation), Matt Thomas (electrical services) and Türtscher Kaspar (stairs).
Location.- 6830 Laterns-Vorarlberg-Austria.
Date.- 2010 (start of construction), december 2011 (building completion).
Site area.- 485.4 m².
Gross floor area.- 102.6 m².
Floor area.- 87 m².
Built-up area.- 43.03 m².
Cubage: 491.4 m³.
Client.- private.

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Bernhard Marte 1966 Born in Dornbirn, Austria. 1980 – 1985 Rankweil Technical College, mentored by Erich Steinmayr. 1985 – 1992 Studied Architecture at the University of Innsbruck, Design training under Rainer Köberl, Completed his studies under Othmar Barth. As of 2005 Advisory Council for Design, Rankweil. Member of the Board of the Vorarlberg Central Association of Architects.

Stefan Marte 1967 born in Dornbirn, Austria. 1982 – 1987 Rankweil Technical College, mentored by Erich Steinmayr. 1987 – 1995 Studied Architecture at the University of Innsbruck, Design training under Rainer Köberl. 1999 – 2005 Member of the Board of the Vorarlberg Central Association of Architects. 2004 Member of the Board of vai, Vorarlberg Architecture Institute. As of 2005 President of vai.

They grew up in Weiler and at construction sites. Marte.Marte opened their joint architecture office in their childhood home in Weiler in 1993. They have contributed to a number of publications and exhibitions such as "emerging architecture 01" and sat on various European competition juries. They have also won a number of awards such as the Austrian State Award for Industrial and Commercial Architecture.

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