Mondsee, Austria
Kuczia Architects presents the Solarlux House Mondsee, a residential building that perfectly blends in with the alpine landscape and features a façade of vertical timber cladding that harmonizes perfectly with the mountainous backdrop.
The glass joint that runs all the way around the building also tones down the visual impact of its cubic structure. And despite only being 17 inches wide, this strip of glass creates extraordinary lighting effects inside the home.
A sense of visual connection with the building’s surroundings is provided by large sliding windows on the east, west and south sides, while the north side is almost entirely enclosed.
Solarlux House Mondsee has recently been awarded a 2024 Future House Award by Global Design News and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.The large glazed areas that cover the entire front of the building and overlook Lake Mondsee itself can be slid open across almost their entire width.
The large living area connects to a covered balcony, which can be opened across its entire width thanks to its glazed slide-and-turn elements. In addition to acting as a natural climate buffer zone.
The restrained yet high-quality design concept continues into the rest of the interior, where all the walls, ceilings, floors and stairs are clad in white, oiled ash, creating a warm atmosphere for the living areas.
The home’s cliffside location meant it needed a lot of stairs. However, these have also been designed as an extension of the living area, with steps up to 10 feet in width that provide an inviting space to while away the hours on the main floors of the split-level house.
The building was primarily constructed in line with the cross-laminated timber concept. This provides outstanding structural properties while also allowing for relatively low component thicknesses.
The in-wall and underfloor heating systems are powered by a heating pump with geothermal probes. Photovoltaic panels have also been built into the south side of the roof, so the house can generate its own electricity.
The simple ventilation concept takes advantage of the stack effect – cool air is drawn in from a less elevated part of the property and channeled into the house via a walk-in ground duct.
The effective combination of ventilation flaps, sliding windows, fans and shading elements provides an effective means of controlling the microclimate in the house.
Project: SOLARLUX House Mondsee Residential Building
Architects: Kuczia Architects
Lead Architect: Peter Kuczia
Contractor: Prommegger Baumanagement GmbH
Client: Private
Photographers: Courtesy of the Architects
