Ludescher and Lutz, both based in Bregenz, wanted the design to combine local craft traditions with contemporary forms. The aim was to create a building that is akin to the existing structures on the site, but also visibly more modern. Thin wooden batons screen the glass facades of this new building that architects have added to the 50-year-old Högl Winery in Lower Austria. The wine-tasting and production room completes the outline of a courtyard at the Högl complex, which is located at the outer western edge of Austria’s Wachau region – a UNESCO heritage area specialising in the production of dry white wines. “The house is consciously seeking to integrate itself into the historically grown material language of the Wachau,” said the architects. “Glass surfaces are shielded by tight and whitewashed wooden slats that show the unevenness of their growth,” they continued. “The roof is a contemporary version of a classic style that has deep roots within the region’s tradition, dating all the way back to the monarchy.”
