The Passivhausanlage Apartments in St. Gallenkrich designed by D O R N E R \ M A T T Architects were built in the shadowy valley. The project is characterized by two-story voids, measuring 2.5 x 2.5 meters to catch the light.
Passivhausanlage Apartments technical information
- Architects : D O R N E R \ M A T T Architects
- Location: Silvrettastraße 7a, 6791 St.Gallenkirch, Austria
- Typology : Residencial Projects / Apartments
- Project Completion: 2016
- Site Area: 2.745 m2
- Floor Area: 2.136 m2
- Built-up Area: 1.909 m2
- Contributors: Construction: Rhomberg Bau GmbH, L / Structural consultant: Mader Flatz / Project Manager: DI Isabelle Groll
- Photography: © Courtesy of D O R N E R \ M A T T Architects
The rooms of the apartments in the “magic cube“ overlap and interlock across the storeys around a central supply core. The high flexibility of the floor plans result from a modular development concept. No apartment is alike and, if in need, one can lend a room to another. It’s like playing with a Rubik’s cube – but the other way round.
– D O R N E R \ M A T T Architects
Passivhausanlage Apartments Photographs
Passivhausanlage Apartments description by the Architects
In St.Gallenkirch, a village in Montafon/Vorarlberg, rural Austria, the settlements were built in the shadowy valley because the farmers needed the sunny, south-facing slopes for their cattle.
A strategy to save resources and cost-effectiveness allows new ways to catch the light. Nearly every apartment has a two-story void, measuring 2.5 by 2.5 meters. They expand the apartment outwards and let the sun and nature to enter into the interior and develop a great view of the landscape.
“Habitation means to experience a state of protected weakness,” according to Peter Sloterdijk. In this sense, a good home is the architectural equivalent of love – it allows you to be weak inside without, therefore, lapsing into an exaggerated pose.”
The rooms of the apartments in the “magic cube “overlap and interlock across the stories around a central supply core. The high flexibility of the floor plans results from a modular development concept. No apartment is alike, and if in need, one can lend a room to another. It’s like playing with a Rubik’s cube – but the other way round. The goal is not only spatial purity but the highest possible diversity.