architek[tour] tirol – guide to architecture in tyrol

Schenker Salvi Weber erected a new, two-story building for a kindergarten and nursery as an extension to the listed Absam Primary School, which fits into the historic villagescape in its volume and with its scrape-finished plaster façade. The triple gymnasium was placed under ground; a spacious plaza, which functions both as a protected schoolyard and as type of village square, developed above it.

The basis for this extremely narrow house was the shape of the 11-meter-wide property, which was considered as unsuitable for building. Starting from the lot shape, Geri Blasiker developed a self-confident and sustainable structure offering a small family a unique home, featuring 108 m² of usable living area accessible on six mezzanine levels. The building envelope was made of brick and gets by without insulation. A turbine along the nearby stream completely supplies the house with energy.

"Swarovski Optik”, specialist for long range optics, was founded in Absam in 1946 where since then, the industrial facility has grown continuously. As part of a structural company reorganisation, a concept for the conversion and extension of the ensemble was drawn up together with the architects. The plans were then implemented over a number of stages taking those working for the company into account.

Developed due to the spatial and architectural circumstances of the village, the KiWi has now become the new village point of interest. Three clearly detectable, independently functioning parts of the building – event hall, inn and community museum – are connected by means of a long stretched out foyer. Despite their clear contemporary shapes, the new buildings blend in naturally with the established structure due to their materiality, colour and dimensions. The inn, the Kirchenwirt, which is under historic protection, was returned to its original condition and carefully integrated into the overall plan.

The extension of the house for senior citizens built during the late 1990s by Hermann Kastner is an elevated two-storey building with bright spacious rooms. Together with the original building, the L-shaped extension forms a central and protected courtyard with a café and roofed open space. A central element is a chapel built above an oval-shaped ground plan in the courtyard; this was intentionally designed as an introverted place of peace.

On a slope east of the village of Absam, adjacent to a school building from the sixties, the new regional professional school for construction and painting bridges the gap between the old school and the distinctive edge of the hill. The building’s organization follows a strictly horizontal logic. Unplastered concrete bricks with integrated insulation for the walls and rough concrete for the load-carrying structure make sure the future construction workers get an idea of what their job is all about, creating a "hands-on” atmosphere very apt for this particular school environment.