Residential Building ASH

One half of a semi-detached house had to be renovated and extended. However, after the first visit it turned out that a large part of the building had to be taken down.

Since it was a semi-detached house, we decided to approach the task with the theme of "symmetry". The formerly identical semi-detached houses now were different since a few years earlier the other half of the house had been increased with a second floor. The result was a complete disharmony among the two halves of the semi-detached house.

The design deals with the theme of "symmetry-asymmetry" intending to restore the lost harmony by increasing the one-story building to a two-story building: this only could be realized by a gabled roof in order to stay connected with the neighboring silhouette. The roof slope was adjusted to the one of the other half of the house. Through the cantilevered upper floor, the entrance area got a covered access. Together with the paneling the upper floor now creates a form simulating insertion which however, indicates symmetry due to the eaves extending towards zero. Thus, the house obtains its independence without forgetting its "twin".

Since the house is oriented eastwards into the garden, the house and the interiors are lacking the afternoon sun. Through the formation of a glass-covered atrium, the building now is open to the afternoon sun. The garden facade tilts a few degrees forward, together with the roof slope it bestows the whole building with a new unity.
A covered, sheltered terrace on the first floor, which is connected to the garden through a new spiral staircase, additionally increases the functional qualities. The terrace provides an elevated open space with a framed view towards the garden.

[tp3] architekten
Architekten: Edith Karl, Alfred Pölz, Markus Rabengruber, Nikolaus Schullerer-Seimayr