A House for Two Generations in Perchtoldsdorf

Alongside his work in architecture, Proksa explores the Alpine glaciers as a mountain guide and this project’s client also comes from the world of mountain climbing. While the client had previously worked on the project with Croatian architect Zoran Bodrožić, Proksa’s subsequent design makes better use of the narrow plot of land with an area of just 528 m2, achieving a respectable usable area of 249 m2.

Local regulations determined not only the building area, but also the setback and height of the building, so the shape of the house was predetermined. Still, Proksa managed to push through permission for a third above-ground floor with a roof terrace, which offers views of the adjacent vineyard. Southern street-facing and northern garden-facing façades respond to their slightly angled position on a trapezoidal plot. A ridged façade of lime plaster is used, in keeping with the conservative environment of this Viennese satellite. Proksa drew inspiration from historic buildings dating from the second half of the nineteenth century, adopting both external features and an honest approach to craftsmanship and detail from this period.

The house’s complex heating and cooling technology uses heat pumps, making it both energetically efficient and non-toxic, thanks to mineral wool insulation that allows this brick structure to breathe naturally.