Hösshalle Hinterstoder

The village street, lined on both sides by houses, forms the central axis of Hinterstoder. The new events hall is built on this street directly across from the church. The hall is clearly set back from the street. This accordingly results in a forecourt, which together with the forecourt of the church forms a striking transverse axis interrupting the continuous course of the street. With this measure, the view of the chain of mountains behind, which is usually blocked, is opened up.

In addition, the sloping ground can be used to accommodate all the required side rooms in a base. Separating the subordinate functions makes it possible to arrange the event level (foyer, hall) - which can be entered from the street across a bridge at street-level - so that they are largely transparent and form a fascinating counterpoint to the decidedly hermetic upper floor (gallery).

Multifaceted views and vistas interweave inside and outside to foster communication. The impression of inviting openness is reinforced by the connecting path from the village street to the parking space, meeting house and fire department located below, which is integrated in the building. The low light openings in the hall provide people seated in the hall with a panorama view of the mountains, while the light filling the space from below conveys a particular form of a sense of shelter at the same time.

The stairs to the upper floor are positioned in such a way that the gaze is respectively focused on one of the significant local mountains while climbing the stairs. The gallery is expanded on one side into a temporarily separable "seminar room", which is in turn generously illuminated, despite its introvertedness, by an atrium in front of it. "Seminar room" and atrium form a spatial unit: glazing as high as the whole floor level, which runs across the entire longitudinal side, remains in the background with respect to the joint demarcation of the space. The requisite emergency exits, which lead directly outside from every floor, serve to continue interior paths beyond their actual end. In this way, the gallery is also directly linked with the outdoors and the public traffic network.

The spatial complexity that unfolds within the framework of what is at first glance a lapidary building is also a constructive challenge: however, we purposely avoid constructive events. Instead, the space, the sequences of space are to be shifted to the center of perception. The wall, the encasement, is relevant as a means for shaping space, everything else can be dispensed with. We do not want to materially burden attention, but rather to stimulate it immaterially: our interest is in the atmosphere that fills the emptiness of the space.