The building owners, both gardener and florist by trade, came to us with the idea of a lighty tree house – this means living among treetops, so that you do not have to look at the plants, trees and flowers just from below.
After we have been dealing with such floating concepts with natural materials for some time the idea of a house above the ground arised, so that you are able to look over the site.
In the middle of Gumpoldskirchen, a small but finely made floating place to live was built surrounded by beautiful old trees.
It went without saying to taken wood as basic building material because of the natural environment.
The entrance to the living area is situated in the first floor accessible through a staircase made out of panels of solid timber and expanded metal in order to get a translucent and diffuse appearance.
Open living in the upper level determines the approximately 120m² generously designed living space, extended with a surrounding terrace, from which you get a great view through the landscape garden.
In the ground floor there is the installations room for the thermal heat pump and the swimming pool technology. The staircase includes a room for an elevator shaft, so that you are able to fit it subsequently to get a barrier-free access if necessary.
The entrance area in the first floor with wardrobe serves as a distributor – from here you get on the one hand into the airy and bright living room with a room height of 4,80m and on the other hand into the more private area of the house with bathroom, dressing room and the bedroom with view to the nature. The whole building is geared to light and sight lines.
In the living area there is the kitchen, the eating area and the living area arranges around an open-hearth fireplace with access to the roofs terrace with a conservatory for the plants of the building owners.
The design of the roof as a hidden pavilion roof with an aluminium façade was one of the defining elements of the draft. The vertical elements of the façade stretch the building even more and the dark grey colour assimilates with the wood perfect into the natural surrounding.
What is more, the panels in anthracite assorts well with the larch facade. That is why we wanted to drag the aluminium into the internal space. From the entrance over to the staircase the material is noticeable and is a good contrast to the wood.
Special attention was paid to the fluent passage between inside and outside because of the special place between the treetops. Spacious window and terrace surfaces fuse the interior and exterior space together and bring the nature into the building.
Also in the housing space it was a great concern to use natural and haptic materials. Walls with clay plaster, faced wood walls and ceilings and wood floor determine the atmosphere and the sense of space in this building.
The whole building is heated through an air source heat pump. The space ventilation provides for a cosy living climate.
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHS
Prefa/Croce & Wir
Andreas Tischler
