'MUIRYO' carries ten times its own weight, by Michael Kainhofer

This lightweight plywood table was created by the Austrian designer Michael Kainhofer. Using CNC-optimised production process the designer tried to use as less material as possible. The applied plywood is only a few millimeters thick, this limitation led to a construction principle which is similar to paper folding techniques.

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'Villa A' in Pöstlingberg / Linz, Austria, by Najjar & Najjar

Everyone loves a breathtaking panorama. Think of the view from Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #22 (1960) of the city of Los Angeles, immortalised by photographic legend Julius Schulman. Vienna-based practice Najjar & Najjar have exploited another great view – of the Austrian city of Linz from the Pöstling Berg – in designing their ‘Villa A’.

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'Neubau Lehmhaus Rauch' in Schlins, Austria, designed by Boltshauser Architekten; photo Beat Bühler

Zurich-based Boltshauser Architekten’s ‘Neubau Lehmhaus Rauch’, located in Schlins, Austria, marries an emphatically modern formal language with a building material that isn’t usually associated with contemporary architecture – clay. ‘As opposed to more organic, archaic clay architecture, the morphology of the building aims towards a certain clarity and sharp-edgedness,’ explains the Swiss practice.

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'Pavilion 21 MINI Opera Space' by Coop Himmelb(l)au, photo by Christian Schittich, München

The eye-catching temporary pavilion for the Bavarian State Opera in Munich was designed by the Austrian architectural practice Coop Himmelb(l)au. Its radical facade is made from perforated and close aluminium sheet. Due to the peaked structure it absorbs the sound of the passing traffic and sets a strong contrast to the neo-classical principal building of the opera. The pavilion was designed for this year’s Opera Festival which goes on until 31 July 2010.

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The Austrian/Croatian designstudio For Use/Numen presented their impressing tape installation during this year’s DMY festival in Berlin. Due to the large area it was not possible to mount the installation as it was conceived like a kind of parasite, site specific object, which uses the existing architecture as docking units. Instead it was built into a custom scaffolding construction, executed within four days (approximately 160 working hours) utilizing almost 700 conventional transparent tapes (45 km of tape).





“The tendons of multiple layers of transparent adhesive tape are firstly stretched in between a construction. The following continuous wrapping of tendons results in a complex, amorphous surface through the process reminiscent of growing of organic forms. The idea for the installation originates in a set design concept for a dance performance in which the form evolves from the movement of the dancers between the pillars. The dancers are stretching the tape while they move, so the resulting shape is a (tape) recording of the choreography”, the designers explain.






more For Use/Numen products @ Architonic

'Rumkugelbahn' by mischer'traxler

We all remember their poetic installation ‘The idea of a tree’. During this year’s DMY Festival our friends from Vienna, the bright design couple mischer’traxler, presented their newest installation, a marble run “powered” by traditional Viennese rum truffles. Designed and build as Vienna Design Week Embassy the rattly and flimsy construction, fixed with thin wires and cardboard tubes forms the playful framework of the preseantation and the rolling little rum truffles show the way through the showcased objects and products from past editions of Vienna Design Week.

'Rumkugelbahn' by mischer'traxler

'Rumkugelbahn' by mischer'traxler

'Rumkugelbahn' by mischer'traxler

'Rumkugelbahn' for Vienna Design Week by mischer'traxler

to the mischer’traxler website

to the Vienna Design Week website

'Discus' by Zumtobel

The Austrian specialist for architectural lighting Zumtobel presented its first spot light system especially designed for LED technology. It was developed in collaboration with EOOS and showcased during this year’s light+building in Frankfurt for the first time. The flat and low-profile body is made of die-cast aluminium, the ring of cooling ribs is not only the spotlight’s dominating design feature but also performs the cooling function required by LED technology. Optimised thermal management is decisive for the durablity of any kind of high-power LED modules.

'Diskus' by Zumtobel

“The idea behind the design developed by the Austrian designer trio was to minimise the shapes by using the new LED technology. Harald Gründl from EOOS: “Discus is the archaic symbol of the sun – combined with cutting-edge LED lighting technology.”

Thus, the LED version has a width of only 28 mm. The newly developed track-box adapter platform features a compact, unobtrusive design, emphasising the minimalist spotlight concept. For its appealing design, Zumtobel won the 2010 iF award for excellent product design granted by the Design Council.”

'Diskus' by Zumtobel

more Zumtobel products @ Architonic

Erich Sattler Winery, photo by Wolfgang Thaler

The Vienna based practice ARCHITECTS COLLECTIVE realised this winery as an extension of two existing buildings in the village of Tadten, a typical village in the Austrian wine region of Burgenland along the border to Hungary.

Erich Sattler Winery, photo by Wolfgang Thaler

“Towards the centre of the village is an existing L-shaped residential building with a courtyard and public access for pedestrians. At the other end of the property in the direction of the vineyards is an existing manufacturing and storage facility with service entrance. In the middle of the property is a new building that is limited by two fire walls and that is used on the ground floor as a barrel room, while the first floor houses a tasting room with kitchen, offices and guest rooms. The interior of the first floor has an east and a west terrace with two long glass facades that allow for flowing inside/outside spaces. The roof terrace above overlooks the village and offer a 360 ° view of the surrounding vineyards, the nearby lakes and the foothills of the Alps.”

Erich Sattler Winery, photo by Wolfgang Thaler

“The ground floor plan of the new building consists of a rectangle and the first floor of a parallelogram, which is oriented east and west. These two basic forms are connected by a series of spatial diagonals and merged into a flowing overall form, creating a number of diverse spaces, views and topographies which are relating to the sun, the patio, and the surrounding environment. The remaining areas of the parallelogram leave the east and west terraces which are used for events and wine presentations. The interior space can be used as a single large space or individual rooms through a large sliding wall and four large doors. In the middle of this space is a free standing pentagon-shaped construction with wooden panels that includes bath rooms and kitchen. The building itself construction consists of concrete and masonry, and wood construction for ceilings and walls.”

Erich Sattler Winery, photo by Wolfgang Thaler

Erich Sattler Winery, photo by Wolfgang Thaler

to the ARCHITECTS COLLECTIVE profile @ Architonic