Harmony, as far as the eye can see

It is well known that Streckhöfe offer a unique living experience. 
The new home of winegrowing couple Christine and Gerhard Markowitsch proves that the age-old building concept also works in a new interpretation.

The clients gave a very clear briefing. Point one: they didn't want any sun. Working in the vineyard, they have enough nature, sunlight and heat all day long. The family is also very sociable and often has guests. This requires a lot of outdoor and indoor space. This finalised the spatial concept. As was customary in the past, some functions were simply outsourced. The existing wooden barn completes the whole thing.

A large part of the charm is due to the fact that Gerhard and Christine demanded quality right from the start. They said: ‘If we get windows, then we want proper windows. The floor should be a smart floor that can take a beating, can take a beating and can take a beating. As temperatures rise, the issue of cooling will become increasingly important for future generations. The building is designed in such a way that projections have been built wherever there is light. This means that there is no direct sunlight in the room. 

We first considered installing skylights. But I'm glad we didn't do that. We only switch the light on in the evening because it's always bright in the room. It's an indirect, pleasant light that doesn't dazzle.

The building also offers endless storage mass: a solid wooden roof, solid brick and concrete walls, a solid floor and the Variotherm wall heating and cooling directly behind the lime plaster. This makes it possible to cool and heat via the walls - in addition to the reduced heat input.

I am a passionate heating enthusiast. I like to be warm and celebrate heating. Daily heating is a ritual for me. It makes you much more mindful of energy.

That's why the wall and ceiling heating was already fixed in the first proposal, because you can also cool with it. An annoying air conditioning system was out of the question for the winegrowing couple anyway.

The main thing for us was that we simply wanted it to be cosy. And we didn't want a complicated heating system, but one that was easy to control. If you can also generate the electricity for the air heat pump yourself, then it's a perfect system.