Solarlux House

SOLARLUX House in Salzkammergut | Austria
At one with nature
The home is notable for the amazing way in which it blends in with the alpine landscape of the region. Its design, rugged and seemingly carved from raw rock, features a facade of vertical timber cladding that harmonizes perfectly with the mountainous backdrop.
Reduced building volume
The glass joint that runs all the way around the building also tones down the visual impact of its cubic structure. And despite only being 17 inches wide, this strip of glass creates extraordinary lighting effects inside the home.
Fluid transitions between rooms
A sense of visual connection with the building's surroundings is provided by large sliding windows on the east, west and south sides, while the north side is almost entirely enclosed. The large glazed areas that cover the entire front of the building and overlook Lake Mondsee itself can be slid open across almost their entire width. Yet despite their impressive scale, the moving wooden slats incorporated into their design shading elements mean that they never dominate the architecture.
A covered balcony forms the heart of the home
The large living area connects to a covered balcony, which can be opened across its entire width thanks to its glazed slide-and-turn elements. In addition to acting as a natural climate buffer zone, the balcony also becomes the heart of the family's day-to-day lives when the weather is pleasant.
A natural living ambience
The restrained yet high-quality design concept continues into the rest of the interior, where all the walls, ceilings, floors and stairs are clad in white, oiled ash, creating a warm atmosphere for the living areas.
Living stairs
The home's cliffside location meant it needed a lot of stairs. However, these have also been designed as an extension of the living area, with steps up to 10 feet in width that provide an inviting space to while away the hours on the main floors of the split-level house.
Modern, solid-wood construction
The building was primarily constructed in line with the cross-laminated timber concept. This provides outstanding structural properties while also allowing for relatively low component thicknesses.
Regenerative energy and electricity generation
The in-wall and underfloor heating systems are powered by a heating pump with geothermal probes. Photovoltaic panels have also been built into the south side of the roof, so the house can generate its own electricity. The panels are brown in color to make them less conspicuous, blending in with the aesthetic of the larch facade cladding that is also used on the north side of the roof.
Low-tech beats high-tech
The simple ventilation concept takes advantage of the “stack effect” – cool air is drawn in from a less elevated part of the property and channeled into the house via a walk-in ground duct. From there, the fresh air is distributed via ceiling fans and the solar fireplace with automatic ventilation flaps. The effective combination of ventilation flaps, sliding windows, fans and shading elements provides an effective means of controlling the temperature and ventilation in the house.