architek[tour] tirol – guide to architecture in tyrol

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.

For a long time the village hall, primary school and clubs such as the band and the fire brigade were housed in a building on the village square. With the new construction of a multifunctional community center and the adaption of the existing building, the most diverse uses were disentangled and given the necessary spatial enlargement. The new structure, erected in the monastery garden and enveloped in a wooden façade, integrates itself into the existing village ensemble and nonetheless self-confidently appears as a village hall.

Hotel Neuwirth – a heterogeneous conglomerate of building components from the most diverse dates of origin – was converted in the course of a reorientation into a nature and active-holiday hotel. The existing roof framework of the western part of the building was completely taken down, all of the balconies were removed, and a new roof structure for seven two-story apartments was erected. The rooms located below were renovated and complemented with a continuous balcony zone; the entire stock façade was thermally renovated and encased with a shingle façade.

In the course of the conversion and extension, the congress, administration and information center erected in the late-1970s was given a completely new appearance. The previously rather heavy and stolid seeming building was transformed into a bright, crystalline structure that places a clear accent between the traditional Tyrolean houses. The spatial offer was significantly expanded and newly organized, whereby the second largest event center in Tyrol now has four action levels at its disposal.

As part of the residential development on the former Tyrolean Loden Factory premises, the Architekturhalle Wulz-König executed a building with 128 owner-occupied apartments. Following the basic urban planning concept, two L-shaped structures facing each other form an open perimeter block development and surround a square-shaped inner courtyard. This inner courtyard lies one meter higher than the surrounding area and is accessed over two ramps at the openings on the east and west side.

Executed by Architekturhalle Wulz-König, Component 4 is a reinterpretation of the perimeter block development arising from the natural slope of the construction site. The base of the building incised into the west of the slope is opened towards the northeast, corresponding to the incline. Lying above the base, the five to seven residential stories are distinctly raised from the streetscape. Broad recesses break through the perimeter block development in two places and afford lateral views to the south and west.

The goal of the redevelopment was to transform the town center, strongly impacted by traffic in the past, into a publically usable space with amenity qualities. By reducing the road width, space for wider sidewalks and plaza-like extensions were created, which were designed with granite plates of different sizes. Information points, fountains, benches, rows of trees and plant and flower beds structure the street space; a lighting concept ensures that the various areas are more or less brightly illuminated according to their significance.