Imagine historic buildings with modern roofs, which are actually no roofs at all, but new modern home extensions. If you have happened to visit Vienna, surely you know what I’m talking about.
This beautiful, imperial city, which has huge areas of representative past centuries historic buildings, often plays with contemporary additions. And as a refined city, it does it in a highly refined manner! This project in Margeretenstrasse 9 in Vienna is one of these fine examples.
Located at the crossing of two active street axes, the building is an important visual accent of the surrounding. In my opinion, its recent 3-storied extension, which was built literally on the top of the building instead of the roof, strengthens its role as a corner centerpiece, leaving all historic substance untouched.
The building itself – exquisitely beautiful in its typical Viennese 1870s style, and its roof part – unexpectedly and vividly new! Such a mixture could have been too bold somewhere else, but the work and settings are perfect, don’t you agree?
Performed in the shades of grey (metal cladding and glass), the extension is not too bright from the outside. However, it is extremely dynamic structurally: the facade lines of different stories have different directions, so that the whole elevation of the new structure is tectonically active.
The 3 stories of the extension make altogether a staggering floor space of 13,455 sq. ft., consisting of four spacious luxury apartments the interior of which is kept laconically grey-white and minimalistic. What I wouldn’t give for such a view…
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