House DI, Bregenz (AT)
New building,
Timber construction
Client: Private
Location: A-6900 Bregenz
Architecture: Dietrich Untertrifaller
Construction: 2014 – 2016
Area: 210 m²
Programme: Single-family house on three levels made of exposed concrete and wood
Photos: Albrecht I. Schnabel
Team
Felix Kruck (Project management), Martina Simoncini
Text: Gerlinde Jüttner
Partners
Statics concrete: Mader & Flatz, Bregenz
Statics timber: Merz Kley Partner, Dornbirn
Building services: Team GMI, Dornbirn
Heating and sanitary: Steurer, Schwarzenberg
Landscape: Balliana Schubert, Zurich
Construction management: Baukultur Management, Schwarzenberg
Timber construction: oa.sys baut, Alberschwende
Awards
- The Plan Award, Honorable Mention
Urban living in a rural setting
The coveted plots on the Pfänder slope in Bregenz offer lake views across the city while maintaining a "rural" atmosphere. The topography of the site, which rises from north to south, together with the view, determine the design concept of this house.
The lowest of the three levels is accessed from where Pfänderstrasse passes on the north side. Above this is the garden level with children's room, guest room and office. At the very top, the living level floats above the meadow slope, framed on all sides by cantilevered terraces – outdoor living space extensions, protected by the roof slab.
House DI gives the answer on how urban living can be combined with rural surrounding and privacy with representation:
Exposed concrete below, wood above
Two storeys of exposed concrete support the cantilevered timber residential storey above. The lowest floor, dug into the slope right up to the north side, is used for arrivals. A gallery acts as a distribution point on the middle level. It houses the children's realm, a guest room and a home office with a view of the countryside. From the very top, there is an unobstructed view of Bregenz's local mountain to the east and Lake Constance to the west. Renouncing to the direct access from the living area to the garden was therefore an easy choice to make.
House on the house
The top floor looks like an autonomous house on top of a house. The dining room, kitchen and living area are arranged in an open-plan sequence on the west side. The bedroom and bathroom are located in the north-east corner, flanked by a wardrobe room. No space has been wasted on corridors; the layout – strongly orientated towards suitability for everyday use – allows a variety of routes through the floor.
Wood, exposed concrete and glass characterise the interior of the house as well as its façades. The reduced material canon is subtly varied: exposed concrete surfaces with a board structure or smooth, the oak and silver fir woods used according to atmospheric effect – oak in the living area, light-coloured silver fir in the children's rooms.
The veranda running around the house is screened from the street by vertical louvres. They can be rotated by 180 degrees, allowing the view and degree of transparency to be controlled. The veranda echoes the "Schopf", a typical element of the traditional Bregenzerwald house, which serves as a loggia-like lounge on warm days.
