Architecture and design
Veranda and garden lofts
Architects Florian Gebauer and Thomas Wittmann from Regensburg were responsible for the design planning, while Manfred and Maximilian Rottensteiner from nearby Weikersdorf were responsible for the construction management.
Three new guest houses with adjoining catering facilities and a farm shop for selling the products produced on site were to be added to the farmstead’s existing agricultural business in 2017.
The veranda has a clear orientation towards the orchards to the south-east, on a slight slope. In order to maintain the view of the extensive orchard from there, the idea was to design the guest houses as floating, irregularly shaped wooden cubes under which the landscape can ‘flow through’.
On the one hand, the elevation created a link between the catering area and the surrounding gardens and, on the other, the higher position of the guest flats allows a panoramic view of the Viennese Alps to the west, combined with an attractive overview of the surrounding vegetation of the estate on the opposite side.
The use of wood as the predominant building material was an obvious choice due to the ecological and sustainable orientation of the company and the strong connection to the landscape. The choice of material also led to a gentle connection between the new houses and the surrounding nature. This effect is reinforced by the arrangement of the three sharp-edged cubes along the natural topography. The staggered heights of the houses create a harmonious relationship with the mountain landscape behind them. Wood as the primary building material also leads to a sensual experience of nature inside the garden lofts in the form of the smell of wood combined with the view of the landscape.
Orangery
The architecture firm Halbritter & Hillerbrand was responsible for the planning and construction of the Orangerie glass house in the north-eastern part of the site in 2016.
Due to the local conditions of the site, the glass house is divided into two rooms, which are located on two levels. The lower room was used as an agricultural production room during the first expansion phase of the business, while the room on the 70 cm higher level was used as a greenhouse. Today, production takes place in the so-called Edelmacherei, which was set up in a former horse stable on the south-western boundary of the property.
The building consists of a south-facing structure that extends from the road to the north-west in a southerly direction towards the slope. The building height on the north-west side with a parapet height of 2.50 – 3.11 m increases to 4.00 m – 5.50 m towards the south. The greenhouse has a four metre high opening on the south side to allow larger plants and trees to be transported.
The greenhouse is accessed via a ramp from the car park. The ramp and the car park areas are designed as gravel turf and a water-bound surface.
The greenhouse is founded on strip foundations, while the agricultural production area is constructed with a foundation slab on frost aprons.
The building is kept frost-free by means of an air heat pump; the energy is largely supplied by a PV system, which is arranged on the roof above the driveway and is as visually unobtrusive as possible.
Two frames with attached supports and an outbuilding with an attached support serve as the load-bearing elements of this roof. The outbuilding houses a disabled toilet and the electric charging station.
Villa Tranquillini
The property with the house number Guntrams 11 is first documented in the Franziska cadastre from the 1820s. The house and courtyard were acquired by architect Rüdiger J. Walter in 1917, renovated and furnished in the modern country house style of the time.
The property was inherited by Stefan M. Gergely, who had the existing buildings renovated in 2017.
The master builder Manfred Rottensteiner from Weikersdorf was responsible for the design and construction.
The elongated main building of today’s Villa Tranquillini was probably built around 1800 and renovated around 1900. At the same time, extensions and additions were added. The attic and the wooden ceilings were probably rebuilt in the same style as they still exist in the extension.
The original building is a single-storey brick structure measuring around 6 by 19 metres with a 45° pitched roof (ridge direction north-east-south-west). In front of the entrance to the former kitchen is a glazed wooden veranda measuring approx. 3 by 4.5 metres.
Around 1900, a non-basement extension with a monopitch roof was built at right angles to this building to the north-east and adapted to the sloping terrain after the south-west gable wall. The existing veranda was extended by seven metres to the eastern extension. Each veranda was given its own entrance.
The building was renovated and refurbished in 2017 and 2018, largely preserving its appearance. The usable space on the ground floor was divided into three areas, which are currently rented out to guests as Apartments Emma, Rüdiger and Studio Steinfeld as part of a farm holiday. Wooden floors and building services were renovated and bathrooms and kitchens were installed.
The existing furniture from the 1920s was restored and in some cases supplemented with modern furniture, light fittings and furnishings.