Architects: Caramel Architekten
Location: Pöstlingberg, Linz, Austria
Project Area: 112 sqm
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Otto Hainzl

Sitting on the slope of pöstlingberg in linz, the 12 x 12 meter cube takes full advantage of the lot by establishing itself as far into the north-eastern corner of the site as building codes permit. These two sides have a very hermetic appearance, thus preventing neighbors from looking in.

By contrast, the house opens itself toward the south and west with two all-glass façades. the west side of the building offers a magnificent view of the danube valley and receives sunlight until late in the evening; an externally mounted textile curtain guards against excessive sunlight and overheating. The south façade pulls away from the edge of the cube in free-form retreat, producing a covered terrace area. extending directly from the terrace is a large swimming pond.

Moving inwards from the southwest open kitchen / dining / living areas that face the swimming pond, one comes to the non-public bedroom units lying to the northeast.

The cellarless house is made out of prefabricated high-performance structural insulated panels, which were installed onto the concrete floor slab in only a few hours with the help of a truck-mounted crane. The diagonally arranged pillars along the west façade provide structural reinforcement.

Slightly inclined toward the east, the roof slab offers gutterless drainage over the façade and into a gravel-filled french drain at the back of the house.

The cube is enveloped in synthetic membranes. For the roof area white epdm was used; for the façade area (invisibly welded to the roof liner), white teflon-coated pvc, which was secured at intervals through the thermal insulation layer between the outer membrane and the structural panels.

The simple form of the building volume, the high degree of prefabrication, its excellent cellulose-fiber thermal insulation, as well as the application of calorific value technology and external shading all contribute to making this a very economical and ecological building.