Winners 2007 - Second Prize

Water on the Hillside

A long, narrow piece of property is usually difficult to build upon. And erecting a residence on this small, sloped site on the edge of Vienna became even more of a challenge because a steep, wooded berm separated the building footprint from the road. The point of access to the site is thirteen meters above the ground floor level. Now a wooden bridge – which passes through a jungle of treetops– arrives at the building’s uppermost floor.

Along the west side of the house a stream burbles down the hillside, fed by an old fountain. Starting from the basin at this spring, the water proceeds to a pond, where it overflows. It continues via a waterfall and channels to a cistern at the garden’s lower edge. The pond is contained in a gently curved, oversized basin of reinforced concrete; the portion jutting out from the hillside creates a covered space beneath.

During the summer months the garden metamorphoses into a bathing paradise for children, replete with a sand beach along the stream. The sounds of flowing water drown out the noise emanating from the city and the nearby railroad tracks. Just above the pond there is a lawn with campfire, in the lowermost corner a terraced fruit and vegetable garden.

Foto:
Eine Holzbrücke führt in das oberste Geschoss des Gebäudes. Von dort öffnet sich der Blick auf den Wienerwald und den darunter liegenden Teich. Ein Wasserlauf neben dem Haus speist den Teich.