architek[tour] tirol – guide to architecture in tyrol

Das Klösterle – ein aufgelassenes Kloster im Ortskern von Imst – stand jahrzehntelang leer. Durch die unmittelbare Nachbarschaft zum Pflegezentrum Gurgltal bot es geradezu für eine Umnutzung an – ein Potenzial, das mit der Sanierung und Erweiterung durch STUDIO LOIS ausgeschöpft wurde. Dabei wurde der denkmalgeschützte Bestand behutsam für "Betreutes Wohnen" revitalisiert und dahinter ein neuer Trakt errichtet, der das Klösterle mit dem bestehenden Pflegeheim verbindet.

Der kaum genutzte Garten eines Einfamilienhauses wurde für eine qualitätsvolle Nachverdichtung genutzt, die aus einem neuen Arbeitsraum entlang der Grundstücksgrenze und einer kleinen Turmwohnung besteht. Die mit ideenreichen, handwerklich präzise umgesetzten Detaillösungen ausgestatteten neuen Bauteile wurden so angeordnet, dass ein kleines Ensemble aus Alt und Neu ringförmig den atriumartigen, abgesenkten Innenhof umschließt.

Die Revitalisierung des Bauernhofs in Osttirol ist ein Beispiel dafür, wie historische Gebäude durch eine behutsame Renovierung und den Einbau moderner Technik zukunftsfähig gemacht werden können, ohne dass der ursprüngliche Charme verloren geht. Außen blieb der Hof nahezu unverändert, während innen eine zweigeschossige Küche und das zu einem großen, stützenfreien Raum umgebaute Dachgeschoß überraschen, die beide vollständig mit Lärchenholz ausgekleidet wurden.

Das Rimml-Areal stand jahrzehntelang leer, bis es die Gemeinde erwarb und als neues Gemeindeamt revitalisieren ließ. Bei der Transformation des 400 Jahre alten Ensembles verfolgten die Architekten die Prämisse, die Bedürfnisse von heute mit den Erzählungen des Bestandes zu verbinden. Der mittlerweile denkmalgeschützte Gasthof wurde behutsam restauriert und adaptiert, der Pavillon und die Kegelbahn wurden instand gesetzt und die ehemalige Holztenne als Kulturstadl reaktiviert.

Ausgehend von der Auseinandersetzung mit den Qualitäten einer historischen Altstadt platzierte die Architektin drei in ihrer Form und Größe in die gewachsene Struktur eingefügte Baukörper mit 55 Wohnungen, Flächen für mehrere Dienstleister und einem Café. Insgesamt entstand ein lebendiges, von einem gassenartigen Wegenetz durchzogenes Quartier mit einem abwechslungsreichen äußeren Erscheinungsbild und klaren Bezügen zu identitätsstiftenden Gebäuden der Stadt.

Der auf einem Hang oberhalb von Außervillgraten gelegene Friedhof bei der Pfarrkirche St. Gertraud wurde 2023 um Urnengräber erweitert. Eine 60 m lange, helle Betonmauer mit leicht auskragender Dachplatte wurde hangseitig vor die alte Bruchsteinmauer gesetzt. Im Süden verläuft diese parallel zur Kirche und bildet einen intimen Zugangsbereich zum Friedhof und zur Aufbahrungskapelle. Im nördlichen Teil wurden die aus jeweils einer geschlossenen und zwei offenen Nischen bestehenden Urnengräber locker zueinander versetzt in die Mauer eingelassen.

In order to create a contemporary rehearsal venue for the Wilten Boys' Choir, the idea of building on top of the petrol station on the grounds of the monastery of Wilten was born. A largely closed structure overhangs the fuel station on the street side and appears self-confident with its continuous outer skin of natural copper sheeting. The rehearsal room upstairs is illuminated and ventilated via an atrium, and a small pub is integrated into the petrol station downstairs.

In the next few years, around 1,000 new apartments will be built on the Campagne site in the Reichenau district of Innsbruck. On the first of the four construction fields, Bogenfeld Architektur implemented a concept based on the main idea of an open-air living room. Between four buildings of different shapes, they create a sequence of alleys, squares and gardens that are intended to promote a lively coexistence.

As a contribution to the careful use of soil as a resource, the supermarket chain MPREIS has built a food market in Volders, whose roof serves as a construction site for a high-quality residential building. Both functions are clearly separated from each other and designed differently as a result. The roof area around the residential building was greened and equipped with a community terrace.

With the P3, PEMA Holding is building its third tower in Innsbruck, directly opposite the Adambräu. The architects realised a slender building consisting of a four-storey base and a 10-storey structure, which forms a clear end to the station area. Hotel "Motel One" is located in the tower, and the "reiter design" showroom and office spaces are located in the base.

After a change of ownership, a town house with its core dating back to the 15th century on Kufstein's town square was converted into a hotel with a restaurant, coffee house and its own roastery and extended by a new building on Marktgasse used as an office building. Through targeted contemporary interventions, the historical substance was further developed into a new unity in which the old and the new always remain recognisable.

Ausgehend von der Auseinandersetzung mit den Qualitäten einer historischen Altstadt platzierte die Architektin drei in ihrer Form und Größe in die gewachsene Struktur eingefügte Baukörper mit 55 Wohnungen, Flächen für mehrere Dienstleister und einem Café. Insgesamt entstand ein lebendiges, von einem gassenartigen Wegenetz durchzogenes Quartier mit einem abwechslungsreichen äußeren Erscheinungsbild und klaren Bezügen zu identitätsstiftenden Gebäuden der Stadt.

Der in der historisch gewachsenen, dichten Bebauung der Höttinger Gasse liegende Baukörper ist aus einem geladenen Architekturwettbewerb hervorgegangen. Direkt entlang der Gasse positioniert, schützt der in Anlehnung an die Farbigkeit der historischen Stadt in rotem Beton ausgeführte Wohnbau den dahinterliegenden Hof vor Schall und Einsicht und erinnert durch die vorspringende Gewerbeeinheit an das kleine, abgebrochene Geschäftslokal.

Aufgrund der historischen Bedeutung der Innbrücke, die 1982 an der Stelle der ersten und namensgebenden Brücke errichtet wurde, entschied die Stadt Innsbruck, die Generalsanierung von einem Architekten begleiten zu lassen. Mit wenigen gestalterischen Maßnahmen gelang es, das Verkehrsbauwerk in einen einladenden öffentlichen Raum zu verwandeln. So wurden alle nicht notwendigen Mauern entfernt und durch ein räumlich geflochtenes Geländer ersetzt, die Anbindung der Brückenköpfe gestalterisch adaptiert und eine neue Beleuchtung realisiert.

Since 2010, people with disabilities have found a job in a restaurant run by Lebenshilfe Tirol in Innsbruck Landhaus 2. The starting point for the conversion was the wish for more flexible event options in the dining area and the creative implementation of the motto "eat colorfully.” The architects implemented these requirements with the help of curtain panels in two colors, which allow different room configurations quickly and easily and fulfill the desired color scheme.

The municipality of Fliess has been trying for several years to counteract the threat of migration. After a multifunctional village centre, the sports and leisure facility is another building block to encourage young people to stay in the village. Based on the topography, the architects placed several horizontally layered levels on, over and against the edge of the hillside: including a clubhouse, a sauna structure by the outdoor pool and a cantilevered deck along the main football field.

The transformation of a historic town house into a boutique hotel is the latest example of the urban renewal process in Rattenberg that started in 2003. In the course of this process, several houses in the old town, which is protected as an ensemble, have been revitalised and vacancies filled with new life. With respect towards the heritage listed building, the very narrow house was renovated from the core up and supplemented with contemporary structures where necessary.

The new school building in the densely built-up centre of Innsbruck provides a differentiated range of rooms despite the necessary compactness. The building is divided into three parts by trapezoidal incisions, which are connected on the side facing away from the street by balcony zones that provide the pupils with a kind of vertical schoolyard.

Like many other schools, the HTL Bau und Design (Technical High School for Structural and Civil Engineering and Design) is affected by an acute shortage of space. ao-architekten realized the desired extension as a compact, single-story addition to the main wing, which clearly stands out from the existing structure through a band of windows running around the entire story. In the building, which is characterized by an open spatial structure and supplied with northern light via sheds, a studio-like ambiance with a high quality of stay was created for the seven final-year classes.

In the course of the expansion and functional adaptation of the Schwaz District Commission, a former passage courtyard was transformed into an attractive urban space. The upper level of the square was expanded, and the difference in level to the lower level has been overcome by a spacious open staircase with steps for seating. The partial, pavilion-like roofing of the stairs and the front area offers protection and forms the spatial framework for this new meeting place.

Built in 1883 in exposed high alpine surroundings on Spitzkofel Mountain (Lienz Dolomites), the Linderhütte was largely destroyed by a storm in 2018. On the initiative of several architects from Lienz, the small hut was rebuilt with the help of donations, sponsorship and voluntary work. The shape, dimension and materiality of the historic old structure were not changed, and a self-supporting "inner chamber” made of solid wood elements was placed in the reconstructed solid building.

In the Tyrolean community in the lower Ötztal Valley, which is characterized by tourism and tradition, an attractive site for the village community was created with the new music pavilion. An elongated wall is flanked by two side arms for technical equipment, storage, toilets and a bar, while the slightly sloping terrain is used as a natural grandstand. The pavilion takes on its very own character through the use of tamped concrete, the exact granulation and pigmentation of which was developed in numerous experiments.

The revitalization of the 300-year-old shed is an example of how old farm buildings can be preserved and transformed for new functions in line with the "Reuse” philosophy. In the spirit of the Tiny House movement, the outbuilding utilized for storage purposes was transformed into a minimalist dwelling. As much of the existing building as possible was preserved and new things were implemented – in a clearly legible manner – using regional materials.

In the course of the organisational transformation of the former "Pädak" into a university of teacher education, the existing building, which was constructed in the 1970s, was renovated and extended. ARSP Architekten added two more volumes to the existing ones and created clearly structured areas for the individual units of use.

In the centre of Kundl, between the secondary school and the music school, a new primary school building was erected in place of an old building in the format of a compact structure in which the functions are vertically layered. On the ground floor, which is glazed all around, are the communal areas, above are two learning floors and below is a large triple sports hall shared with the secondary school and clubs.

The primary school of Brixlegg was built in the mid-1960s by the Brixlegg architect Josef Gschösser according to the concept of an atrium school. The school was upgraded functionally and spatially through targeted interventions with careful handling of the existing building substance. As part of one of the measures, the main entrance was relocated to the east and redesigned as a sheltered entrance area.

The new town hall in Nauders emerged - like many others - from a competition supported by the Tyrolean Village Renewal. A compact exposed concrete structure with a light gable roof gives the community an appropriate presence through its form and height development. Between the new building and the former town hall from the 1950s, which has now been repurposed, an attractive village square has been created.

The little house in Fulpmes is a paramount example of the resource-saving approach to building materials and upcycling. Materials from a nearly 200-year-old, demolished threshing floor were utilized, as well as used windows, doors and glass. Moreover, regional or inexpensive materials were primarily used. A radically stripped-down, open-use space emerged on the ground floor, and a one-room apartment on the upper floor, largely equipped with used items.

An approximately 300-year-old mountain farmhouse at an altitude of 1,200 meters was sustainably revitalized with careful attention to historic preservation and based on the tradition of "building on.” Taking into account the farming past, as well as the more recent history, a harmonious ensemble was created with sensitivity and through the introduction of new architectural elements such as lattice windows, raw steel fittings and the use of conglomerate rock.

In a 17 m2-large shop, Rainer Köberl set up a Nepalese take-away for Dil Ghamal – a building owner for whom the architect had already planned the "Sensei” and "Meer Sensei” sushi bars. The space is kept in the basic silver color. Its dark walnut, mirror and a Sanskrit proverb on the wall exude a touch of Nepal.

Designed by Rainer Köberl and Daniela Kröss, the museum building lies like a small fortress on a steep slope. Rising above a roughly pentagonal layout is a tower-like structure that gets its conciseness from the clear form and the reduction of the design elements to reddish-colored concrete in connection with bold red steel elements. From the entrance on the ground floor, visitors are guided through two exhibition levels up to a viewing terrace, which leads over a footbridge into the ibex enclosure.

The former granary in the commercial area of Hall was converted into a transshipment center for wood pellets for an energy company and expanded to include a space for company events. The basic idea of the design was to place a crown on the existing tower and thus transform the anonymous commercial structure into an architecturally striking building. The two-story addition was encased in a filigree precast concrete façade, the grid of which refers to the structures found in the existing building.

Dating back to the 13th century, the core of Heinfels Castle had fallen into disrepair over the past century. In 2007, the South Tyrolean company Loacker took over the ruin and, in cooperation with the Federal Monuments Office, the State of Tyrol and the newly founded museum association, developed a concept to make them usable for tourism and culture. In a balancing act between old and new, parts of the large castle complex were preserved and restored, while others were reconstructed and reinterpreted.