architek[tour] tirol – guide to architecture in tyrol

The Klösterle - an abandoned monastery in the centre of Imst - had stood empty for decades. Its proximity to the Gurgltal care centre made it ideal for conversion – a potential that STUDIO LOIS made use of through their renovation and extension. The listed building was carefully revitalised for assisted living and a new wing was built behind it, connecting the Klösterle to the existing nursing home.

Several educational institutions belonging to the Sisters of Mercy school association are housed in a building complex dating back to the 1930s. In the course of the most recent renovation, conversion and expansion measures, this heterogeneous building stock situation was resolved. A façade made of translucent polycarbonate panels consolidates the various existing buildings; the interior was returned to its concrete structure and complemented with natural materials.

In 2014, the religious order of the Sisters of Mercy in Innsbruck decided to renovate and expand the facilities of the former girls’ boarding school to make accommodation available to people who fled their home countries. Under the premise of using the existing means as best as possible, the girls’ boarding school dating from the 1960s underwent a general refurbishment according to plans by STUDIO LOiS, who added an annex and a stairwell. The makeover ostensibly did not center on design issues, but much more on combining and reacting to cheaply available resources.