HOUSE ON THE GOLDBIEGELBERG
2380 Perchtoldsdorf
1992 - 1994
TEXTPHOTOSPLANS
GMMK , Foto: Elisabeth Mayr-Keber , Gert M. MAYR-KEBER ZT-GmbH. Haus am Goldbiegelberg 1992-1994

Perchtoldsdorf lies on the southern periphery of Vienna and is a well-known wine-growing village. The special situation of the property, at the top of a hill and surrounded by vineyards, formed the notional starting point for the design of a residential house standing on its own, whereby the existing building would be incorporated into the new house.

A house was designed making appropriate use of the existing building; however, due to the inferior quality of the latter structure, it was decided to dispense with a dialectic approach concerning the relationship between the old and new parts and to allow the house to present itself as an entirely new building.

Taking account of the existing building, the main orientation and basic structure of the design was determined by the specific topography of the site (on the crest of a hill, sloping down into a valley) and its south-facing aspect. Thus, the whole building, defined by its superimposed, narrow barrel roof, becomes legible. The building's 'ridge-back' covers half of the new and old parts of the house respectively, constituting a linking element between the two parts in a sense beyond the merely structural.

While the distinction between old and new is no longer discernible on the southern side of the house, which can be seen from afar, on the west and north sides, the volumes of the old house have been preserved through the differentiation and articulation of the building as a whole, and are still visible.