House BFW / [tp3] architekten

Architects: [tp3] architekten
Location: Altschwendt, Austria
Project Year: 2010
Contractor: Kaplbau GmbH, Humer GmbH
Photographs: Ulrich Kehrer

We were presented with an exciting task in the summer. Two families who are friends had clubbed together and bought a large plot of land, with the idea of sharing and coordinating the building and planning work. The project was all the more fascinating to us, as house-building is such a personal and individual task. However, both families agreed to coordinate the planning so a single unit would be evident despite the existence of two separate family houses, also including the possibility of a shared garden over the centre boundary.

Site plan

A single-story bungalow which incorporates the garages of both sections merges both building sections together like a strap which is clasping the two plots. The two-story detached house breaks away from this strap towards the garden and therefore forms a conclusion to this building configuration. Both of the building sections are positioned such that the individual outdoor areas allocated to each of the families eventually form a protected interior courtyard. In terms of its external characteristics, the single-story building with its two garages appears as a monolithic, white building.

The two-story house with its dark façade cladding is fascinatingly mediating between the two buildings, thereby allowing the individuality of the individual sections to become evident. Both houses are configured as low energy homes, with deep drilling and controlled living room ventilation. The bungalow in its massive construction and white plaster façade, the two-story building in timber frame construction and dark grey façade cladding.