Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria - plotCAD box - Architetti e Progetti di architettura

2003

Tratto da Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

Ray 1, situated on the flat roof of a 1960s office building in the middle of the rooftop landscape of Vienna's fourth district, has evolved from these direct stimuli and the spatial quality of its location. This origin, however, is by no means contradicted by the clash of the static mass and the dynamic form of architecture in motion, but rather, this juxtaposition also serves to charge the structure.

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

The design, inevitably faced with the strict building regulations for rooftop expansion, does not fail to address these, yet it refuses total submission, instead structuring itself through a re-interpretation of these regulations.

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

In order to best translate the design concept into the actual building structure while at the same time taking into account the condition of the original building and the demands of a rooftop development, we have chosen to employ a steel skeleton construction. In this way a homogeneous steel framework was used to transfer the load evenly over the entire surface to the original building. The major loads of the roof construction are supported by the gables, while the design elements of staggered and sloping levels of the rooftop landscape serve to achieve a spatial flow largely unhampered by supports.

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

The new building has evolved out of the connection between the two buildings on either side of it, by continuing the line of projection of the gables and providing, as it were, the missing link. The border between sky and earth, however, should not be taken as a dividing line separating the roof and the surrounding context, but as a permeable border zone that itself becomes a space for living.

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

Recesses and folds create transparent zones and sheltered terraced landscapes on both sides of the building, providing the opportunity to experience the structure's open layout from the entrance all the way up to the accessible roof area.

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

This tension inherent in the site is communicated through the dynamics of the building structure itself, which has evolved not only from the exterior conditions but also out of the demand for a flowing internal spatial continuum.

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

The outer skin, which is coated with Alucobond, defines the contours of the apartment's interior as well, suggesting varying valences for different zones and niches.
The intention here was to create a shell, that would function as a programmable medium for furniture, or furniture that would be transformed through the architecture.
The interior space is designed as a loft whose various functional areas are defined by different floor levels; thus the spacious living area and the centrally located kitchen are raised almost a meter above the enclosed bedrooms zones, giving them an intimate, more protected character. The open kitchen unit, located on a plateau in the slope of the ramp of the living area, is the transition point between introverted and extroverted zones and acts as the hub of the flow of interior spaces.

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

In the convergence of place of tranquility and spatial movement the vast leather upholstered relaxation zone on the same level as the work area emerges from a section that extends out beyond the property line. Here the use of glazed surfaces with load-bearing capacity fully meets the demand for a flowing architectonic space whose perimeter signals distinction, permeability, and continuity between the interior and the exterior. At the far end, the living space becomes wider through a transparent corner of large frameless sliding glass doors. These can be pushed completely out of the way to afford access to a terrace with a sunken basin along its edge. From here one has a seamless and unimpeded view of the city.

Delugan Meissl, House Ray 1 - Vienna, Austria

© Delugan Meissl Associated Architects

The movement of the space through the oscillating architectural levels as an integral component of the spatial concept doesn't just have an influence on the interior spatial relationships but on one's perception of the horizon as well, the panorama seen when looking off in the distance, and it constantly urges the inhabitant to re-assess his/her own position within the surrounding context.

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Delugan Meissl Associated Architects [www.deluganmeissl.at]