ulrike tinnacher embeds former wine press house into austrian hillside

set on a hillside surrounded by vineyards in southern austria, house T is by architect ulrike tinnacher. despite the exposed location, the restrained materiality and form allows the architecture to sit confidently in unity with the landscape.

all images © ulrike tinnacher

the existing gable structure was previously a winery until early in the 20th century, and this served as ulrike tinnacher‘s concept for the single-family detached home. the design began with reworking the existing building from the 60’s, which became worn down and housed the 400 year old stone and vaulted wine cellar. the resulting response saw the house being divided into two structures: one over the stone cellar, a rectangular volume topped with the sloping roof – a tribute to the former building, which had stood in the same orientation and similar cubic form.

a bedroom, bathroom and gallery is located in the monolithic volume which sits over the wine cellar

the monolithic construction of the concrete feature rough-sawn planks formwork and the façade interrupted with a few square openings that give the building an introverted character. additionally, there is a bedroom, bathroom and a gallery located inside. the brown color and the texture of the concrete walls provide comfort and sections of the walls feature glazing that frame a panoramic view of the undulating landscape.

the open-plan kitchen and dining looks out onto the adjacent vineyards

meanwhile, on the east side, the flat-roofed building with an elongated structure is comprised of the living, dining and kitchen area, and a garage. this part of the detached house features an overhanging flat roof made of solid timber, and enables the surrounding scenery to diffuse with the architecture. the two constrasting buildings intersect each other via the kitchen; a split level leads to the historic wine cellar and the spaces upstairs to the gallery.

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