The detached house Erhard is located in Laatsch in the municipality of Mals in Val Venosta.
The Garni Etschheim is an existing accommodation, which had as an extension a sauna landscape with winter garden. The extension (sauna landscape and winter garden) looked like a foreign body and did not meet the aesthetic requirements of the builders. Furthermore, the builders had been toying with the idea of building their own home for several years. For this reason, they decided to demolish the sauna area and winter garden and to build a residential house on this site.
The planned annex is to form a unit with the existing Garni, should be however at the same time a separate dwelling house. Since the building is located according to the urban land-use plan in the "historic village center", one tried to lean the building structure to this. The two existing structures are of traditional construction with gable roofs and the central purlin is oriented towards the south, as is usually the case. For these aforementioned reasons, one designed a building with a rectangular floor plan, gable roof and with natural materials such as wood. One interpreted the existing traditional buildings, but tried to create a modern, plain and simple body.
The annex had to be built in the shortest possible time, therefore, and for ecological reasons, it was decided to use the all-wood construction method. Thus, the entire construction could be completed in only 4 months. In addition, wood is a local building material which therefore has only short transport routes. Furthermore, wood stores carbon in the growth phase, binds it during the life of the building and can be reused afterwards or used as fuel. In order to emphasize the all-wood construction, the exterior façade was built with a simple exposed formwork.
The concept of the two-story wooden house was primarily to achieve openness and privacy at the same time. Through the generous and purposeful use of openings, an attempt was made to achieve visual contact between the space and nature. Since the property borders on the Adige River, they tried to make nature tangible inside the building as well. It was particularly important to the architects to leave the existing trees in the garden.
The building can be reached on foot and by car via the existing road. On this "forecourt" there are then parking facilities for cars and bicycles. From this "forecourt" which is located in the north, the development of the building takes place. On the first floor you reach an anteroom with a checkroom, where guests as well as residents store their clothes. From here, through a door, one reaches the living area. This living area is the center of the building, it offers possibilities for cooking, talking, staying and resting. From the living area you can reach the surrounding garden and also a day toilet.
A straight staircase leads from the first floor to the upper floor. In this area there are the private rooms, three bedrooms, the bathroom and the loggia. These rooms thus form the night area.
For the construction only local companies were contracted, due to the good cooperation a smooth construction process was possible. Also through their experience, it was possible to coordinate the work well."The preservation of these structures and the strengthening of the village centers is a special concern for us." explains architect Pinggera Martin."In the future, housing must be much more flexible and adaptable to the different lifestyles of the residents*," says architect Pinggera Martin.
