East Tyrol

The project comprises the careful refurbishment and further development of a locally typical Einhof (a farmhouse with living quarters and farm buildings under one roof) in the Defereggental, with a clearly legible separation between the residential and the agricultural parts. The building follows the topography and consists of a low plinth zone of natural stone with a timber structure and a distinctive roof above.

The aim of the planning is to preserve the structure that shapes the village’s appearance while adapting it to contemporary requirements of use. The existing volume, roof form and materiality are largely retained; interventions are restrained and clearly differentiated between existing fabric and addition.

The residential wing remains reserved for private use, while the former stable and barn area is functionally reinterpreted and adapted for communal uses. The façade is retained, and the existing windows are replaced with timber windows in a design appropriate to heritage conservation.

To improve usability, individual log-wall elements are structurally raised to allow contemporary room heights. The measure is carried out selectively and with maximum care for the existing structure. The thermal refurbishment is deliberately restrained and limited to the legally required minimum. Electrical installations and building services are completely renewed.

The aim of the project is to develop the existing building out of its own constructional and typological logic and to strike a balanced relationship between preserving the historic building fabric and contemporary use.