marte marte architects covers austria's castle extensions with translucent aluminum mesh

located in lochau, austria, this renaissance castle was completed in 1585 and was owned by a wealthy aristocratic family until the beginning of the 20th century. dubbed schloss hofen — or hofen castle — the structure has fulfilled different functions throughout its history: it was a dwelling, brewery, reserve hospital and children’s home, and during WWI it served as a military hospital. after that, it was used by the economic chamber as a catering trade school. for the past decades it has been in public hands and it’s now a seminar hotel that provides infrastructure for workshops, meetings and events in an inspiring and communicative atmosphere.

all images by faruk pinjo

renowned practice marte marte architects was entrusted with the extensive renovation and expansion of the historical hofen castle building. the castle itself was preserved in accordance with the national monuments’ protection program while a contemporary extension was added from the original 16th century building. the interior was cleaned almost to its structural base in order to completely reorganize the building according to today’s requirements and standards. stucco works, vaults, coffered ceilings and the sandstone door and window frames were preserved as far as possible or supplemented in contemporary reinterpretation.

inside, eight state-of-the-art seminar rooms can accommodate groups of up to 40 people. the late-gothic wolf-dietrich-saal offers space for lectures, conferences and cultural events for up to 110 guests. on the upper floors, 31 guest rooms (single and double rooms) invite to a relaxing overnight stay on site. kitchen, technology, storage rooms and the vertical access via staircase and lift have been outsourced to two new additional buildings with a total area of 500 m². partially hidden in the slope, they have been covered with a translucent aluminum expanded metal mesh. as hermetic cubes, the new builds docked at the sides and at the back are self-confident and formal in their uncompromising manner, without pressing the historic main building with the striking onion turrets.