Design Studio WS 17/18

Wein und Spiele: Raumstrukturen für Straß im Straßertale

TASK

In the context of the ggst. Design program are three unused properties in Straß im Straßerthale in the center of the consideration, which are for some time in the possession of the municipality. The three locations each have their own characteristics and should be integrated into the existing cultural offer or complement it in a meaningful way. On the one hand, there is a spatially exciting cellar building with an adjoining “cellar tube system” that could have a possible function as an event space/wine experience world and possibly for gastronomic use. On the other hand, as a direct supplement to the open-air museum “Germanisches Gehöft Elsarn”, a building land area is available in the village association. Here – for the increase of the number of guest beds -, a use in the sense of accommodations for groups (school country week etc.) is aimed at. Furthermore, an elongated – but narrow – plot of land (formerly “Gemeindewohnungen Nr. 70”) is available for processing with regard to possible residential uses.

RESUMEE

Considering the present designs, the breadth of the proposals in relation to the three different properties is quickly revealed. The narrow longitudinal plot of the former municipal apartments proves to be a “real” challenge upon closer inspection, especially with regard to the rear boundary towards the neighboring property. The supply of light and views as well as the generation of open spaces thus becomes a design tightrope act. It is therefore not surprising that the solutions are small-scale and at times extremely dense. Thus, the location in the village context forces extremely specific solutions, which only emerge by virtue of this field of tension and the local, thoroughly heterogeneous building environment. The task of a youth hostel in Elsarn near the Germanic farmstead, in turn, unfolds along its topographical location. The slope found in connection with the location of the property directly on the road also forces specific solutions throughout. Here, essentially, themes of isolation as well as introversion with regard to internal orientation and development are dealt with; after all, a world of recreation and regeneration wants to be created. Whether this circumstance is ultimately taken into account through the creation of isolated pavilions in the green or through differentiated inner courtyard solutions, however, is up to the personal approach of the individual designer. The third location, a spacious cellar tube complex with an existing building in front of it, in turn primarily calls for functional and attractive approaches to revitalization. Here, ultimately, the “grand” vision of an alien view of the all-too-familiar tubes guides the design approach in detail. In this way, the tube structure is transformed from case to case into an ever new world of experience. The approaches to play range from a bathing and wellness world to a mushroom farm, a Fassl hotel or a world of pleasure. In this way, the “cellar” becomes a backdrop that has to be played with in the best possible way. The barrels stored in it consequently become the “motif” of very different designs. It is not surprising that people sometimes spend the night in the wine barrel, that mushrooms thrive in it at other times, and that saunas or baths are taken in it. It remains to be hoped that the diversity of ideas will find expression and that the design approaches will contribute their share to making Straß im Straßertal even more diverse than it already is.