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Townhouse in Salzburg    
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The Allure of Architectural History  
​Architects: Christine + Horst Lechner, Salzburg
     
 
DESIGN CONCEPT 
 
Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s visionary design for Schloss Orianda in Crimea served from the outset as the central inspiration for the conceptual and spatial articulation of this house. In a letter to his client, Schinkel once wrote of the "charming temptation to let the spirit always wander outward" and of the "magnificent, open location at a picturesque height"—prompting him to develop a layout that would meaningfully engage both outward and inward. A similar aspiration, though in a different scale and context, underpins this project.  
 
REALISATION  
 
Due to street and neighboring noise, the bedrooms and children’s rooms are located on the ground floor, oriented toward the sheltered garden courtyard. Living spaces on the upper floor form the beletage, taking advantage of the magnificent views of the Salzach River, the Fortress of Hohensalzburg, the street space, and the forecourt leading to the house. The rooftop pavilion, nestled among the branches of the old oak tree, evokes imaginative childhood memories of a treehouse.    
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Upon entering the building, spatial sequences are oriented toward the garden, with views directed toward both the upper level and the pergola. On the main living floor, the terrace area and the winter garden—along with an optional open sequence of spaces—become fully perceptible.  

The design was driven by the desire to return the lost ground area to nature by planting the flat roofs. In addition, all exterior walls were fully planted using tension cables—either from the soil or from the terraces. The winter garden supports this intended character of the building, working in concert with the large existing oak tree, which enters into a poetic dialogue with the architectural volume..    
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CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS  
 
Foundations: 30 cm watertight concrete tank Basement Walls: Watertight concrete tank with 8 cm external thermal insulation, plastered on the inside Above-ground Walls: Wood-concrete composite blocks with insulation and plaster finish Interior Walls: Load-bearing walls of 25 cm clay bricks, partition walls of 10 cm clay bricks, all surfaces plastered Ceilings: Reinforced concrete with 20 cm external thermal insulation Floors: Floating screed with hardwood parquet Interior Doors: Solid-core doors, hinged and sliding, lacquered or veneered Structural Columns: Reinforced concrete Façades: Plastered and painted white Window Elements: Natural timber windows, individually accented in red, green, yellow, and white Heating: Groundwater heat pump, low-temperature underfloor heating in living and wet rooms, warm air fan for heat distribution from the winter garden into the basement, wood-burning stove on the living floor