steinbauer architektur reinvigorate 200-year-old home
Steinbauer Architektur reimagine a historic farmhouse known as HÄUSL. in the small settlement of Waidmannsbach in Lower Austria for contemporary life. The project transforms a nearly 200-year-old rural home, situated between a stream and a spruce forest in the limestone Alps. The removal of improvised additions and addition of a precise new concrete volume into the hillside stabilizes, expands, and quietly transforms the house, revealing an architectural dialogue that preserves the spirit of the original while redefining how it is lived today. Decades of improvised additions and repair attempts weaken the fabric of the house, and persistent hillside water causes serious damage. The architects aim to keep the modest and charming appearance of the original building, yet recognize the need for decisive structural intervention. Careful and precise renovation measures protect the house from the forces of the surrounding slope.
all images courtesy of STEINBAUER architektur+design
alps serve as backdrop for contemporary extension
The current owners, who represent the third generation of residents, ask the studio to preserve the building’s character while preparing it for contemporary life. The architects define the material palette with a strong contrast between existing surfaces and new interventions. In the original structure, white lime plaster, refurbished spruce timber, and burnished steel dominate the interior and exterior. The addition introduces sandblasted concrete, black mastic asphalt, and polished stainless steel as deliberate counterpoints. A core insulation system allows the new volume to remain visible on the facade as exposed concrete. The renovation respects the past and establishes a clear contemporary identity, giving the small farmhouse a confident future in its alpine landscape.
renovation in austrian countryside secures landscape
The renovation begins with the removal of all later extensions and with the demolition of the remaining longitudinal wall that faces the mountain. Erosion leaves a fragile scar in the terrain between the house and the porous rock behind it. The architects close this gap with a new addition that measures fifteen meters long, 2.4 meters wide, and 4.5 meters high. This compact volume secures the hillside, channels groundwater in a controlled way, and provides extra living space. Inside the reorganized building, the traditional farmhouse parlor remains the central heart of the home. From this room, residents reach a bedroom to the north and a second, almost identical room to the south. A clearly readable joint between old and new construction extends each existing room about two meters into the slope. The parlor receives a new kitchenette, and each bedroom gains its own bathroom. Restored box windows bring western light into the historic rooms, while orderly skylights illuminate the new addition from above. Together these elements ensure natural ventilation and balanced daylight throughout the house.
project info:
name: HÄUSL.
architects: STEINBAUER architektur+design
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edited by: claire brodka | designboom
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