Holiday Home in Carinthia
9212 Trabenig-Ebenfeld
1988 - 1990
TEXTPHOTOSPLANS
GMMK . Gert M. Mayr-Keber ZT GmbH . 1988 . Holiday Home in Carinthia . Photography Elisabeth Mayr-Keber

This small house, designed for a Viennese family, is situated in Carinthia, high above the Wörthersee lake in a hilly landscape surrounded by woods. This topography influenced the choice of wood as the main building material. The client's instructions for a minimalistic house were fulfilled in the counterpointing of very small, enclosed units with one single, spaciously- proportioned open room. Sleeping quarters were not specified within the living area in order to facilitate a more flexible use of the available space. A psychological and physical impression of space which links outside and inside without an intervening liminal area, and allows the interior to reach out and grasp the exterior space naturally, and vice versa, was created by incorporating a large number of windows, a ceiling- high glass sliding door, the creation of a recessed inner room and the addition of an exterior deck which is simultaneously a continuation of the walls, floors and ceilings.

The residents' states of consciousness as regards the use of the specific areas were interpreted spatially by the contrasting concepts of 'narrow-wide', 'large-small', 'open-closed', 'exposed-protected'. The intermediary dividing walls, which all have glass panels at the top, open the rooms upward, and the protective shield of the roof that encloses all the rooms is then legible as an embracing whole.

The external appearance of the house echoes basic architectural typologies of the region.