Activating the rural territory. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects
26/08/2023.
[Turnau] Austria
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
metalocus, ADELA BONAS
At the Pogusch in the Austrian Alps, Birgit and Heinz Reitbauer, rural areas are developing in line with the times at an altitude of 1050 m: PPAG architects, the minds behind the extension of the Steirereck restaurant in Vienna's Stadtpark in 2015, also won the competition for the new formation of the Steirereck am Pogusch in 2018. The extensive construction project was completed in spring 2022.
The inn and upscale restaurant Steirereck am Pogusch in the Austrian Alps brings together down-to-earth quality, haute cuisine, high-tech work processes, sustainable agriculture, and a luxury hotel business under one roof. The supra-regionally well-known inn has been expanded on a large scale, but the changes remain largely invisible in the landscape.
The inn and upscale restaurant Steirereck am Pogusch in the Austrian Alps brings together down-to-earth quality, haute cuisine, high-tech work processes, sustainable agriculture, and a luxury hotel business under one roof. The supra-regionally well-known inn has been expanded on a large scale, but the changes remain largely invisible in the landscape.
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Section. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Section. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Section. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Section. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Section. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Section. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus
Site plan. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Existing buildings before the project's expansion. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Ground floor plan. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
First floor plan. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Second floor plan. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Third floor plan. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Salettl diagram. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
Salettl section. Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects.
The complex now includes a farm, a biomass power plant, as well as hospitality and gastronomy of the highest standard. PPAG architects are responsible for completely renewed structures in the inn and kitchen, a new gazebo, and two unconventional glass houses (with a garden for rare plants as a kitchen hinterland, overnight accommodation in cabanes, and a multi-story spa).
The project consists of existing buildings such as the stone house and the wooden house, which have been refurbished and elevated as well as expanded. These extensions, namely the Salettl, the bar kitchen, the kitchen garden (a warm greenhouse), and a large glass house (cold greenhouse) are partly buried due to the hillside location. Through various calculated interventions, existing buildings and extensions now form a village ensemble at the scale of a rural development.
The realization, in collaboration with the best handicraft companies, allowed for a nowadays unusual level of detail. PPAG also designed numerous details, such as organomorphic door handles, 3D-printed washbasins, and spatially effective vertical wooden blinds, all of which bestow the project with the character of a cutting-edge, total work of art – and transport visitors to an unusual mountain world.
The project consists of existing buildings such as the stone house and the wooden house, which have been refurbished and elevated as well as expanded. These extensions, namely the Salettl, the bar kitchen, the kitchen garden (a warm greenhouse), and a large glass house (cold greenhouse) are partly buried due to the hillside location. Through various calculated interventions, existing buildings and extensions now form a village ensemble at the scale of a rural development.
The realization, in collaboration with the best handicraft companies, allowed for a nowadays unusual level of detail. PPAG also designed numerous details, such as organomorphic door handles, 3D-printed washbasins, and spatially effective vertical wooden blinds, all of which bestow the project with the character of a cutting-edge, total work of art – and transport visitors to an unusual mountain world.
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus.
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus.
Project description by PPAG architects
PAG architects unveil "Steirereck am Pogusch", an offshoot of the Viennese restaurant "Steirereck", which has been among the world's top gastronomic establishments for many decades. The Pogusch is a pass, 1059m in height, through the Austrian Alps, and Steirereck am Pogusch sits at the top of the pass, surrounded by its own farmland.
In addressing a conversion and extension project, gourmet chef Heinz Reitbauer and his wife Birgit wanted to show how innovative and sustainable a gastronomic business can be. The challenge was to blend a situation characterized by nature with a highly sophisticated, contemporary catering business to ensure a harmonious future. Through various interventions, the pre-existing buildings and additions form a village ensemble on the scale of rural development in the mountain landscape.
For the most part, the striking new buildings are built into the hillside, and they blend in as eye-catchers in the surroundings of nature and the traditional built environment. The pre-existing buildings – a kitchen, lodging, a stone house, and a wooden house, along with agriculture – were complemented by relevant new ones. The new buildings encompass extensive new catering areas including the "Salettl" for fine dining, the fire kitchen (bar, grill, steam counter, farm store, regulars' table), the distillery, kitchens with extensive preparation- and staff areas, a kitchen garden in a small glass house, special staff and guest accommodations, and an extension of visible and invisible infrastructure.
Steirereck restaurant at Pogusch by PPAG architects. Photograph by Hertha Hurnaus.
In the large glass house, a hybrid of an advanced greenhouse and living space that atmospherically fertilizes each other, there are integrated sleeping berths, as well as a wellness zone with a sauna and a fireplace. PPAG architects also designed numerous details and furnishings to provide the project with the dimension of an ultra-modern Gesamtkunstwerk – and transport the visitor into an unusual mountain world.
Here, self-care means caring for the planet too: The focus was set on renewable energy supply (heating, cooling, electricity), supplemented by measures to reduce resource consumption (on-site food production, circular economy, composting, ecological selection of building materials) and reduction of mobility-related energy and CO2 consumption. The new design leads to an almost energy-self-sufficient, resource-saving hospitality project, despite its isolated location in the mountains. The “Steirereck am Pogusch” is part of the "City of the Future" research program of the Austrian Ministry for Climate Protection and Technology.
More information
Architects
PPAG architects. Lead architects.- Anna Popelka, Georg Poduschka.
Project team
Anna Popelka, Georg Poduschka, Paul Fürst, Lukas Ortner, Christian Wegerer, Jakub Dvorak, Billie Murphy, Jonas Steinmetz, Maximilian Keil.
Collaborators
Structural design: Werkraum Ingenieure
Fire protection planning: kunz DIE INNOVATIVEN BRANDSCHUTZPLANER
Infiltration concept and soil expertise: Geologie Weixelberger
Vegetation concept glass houses: Green4Cities
Tendering: Buchegger.
Local construction supervision: Viereck Architekten
Building physics: rosenfelder & höfler consulting engineers
Lighting design: Ing. Johannes Jungel-Schmid
Building services planning: TBH Ingenieur
Landscape architecture: Client and Viereck Architekten
Fire protection planning: kunz DIE INNOVATIVEN BRANDSCHUTZPLANER
Infiltration concept and soil expertise: Geologie Weixelberger
Vegetation concept glass houses: Green4Cities
Tendering: Buchegger.
Local construction supervision: Viereck Architekten
Building physics: rosenfelder & höfler consulting engineers
Lighting design: Ing. Johannes Jungel-Schmid
Building services planning: TBH Ingenieur
Landscape architecture: Client and Viereck Architekten
Client
Steirereck Stadtpark GmbH.
Area
Site area.- 11,762 m².
GFA existing building.- 756 m².
GFA new building.- 2,957 m².
Visitor places restaurant.- 146.
Overnight accommodations in the large glass house.- 20.
Employees.- 55.
GFA existing building.- 756 m².
GFA new building.- 2,957 m².
Visitor places restaurant.- 146.
Overnight accommodations in the large glass house.- 20.
Employees.- 55.
Dates
2022.
Location
Pogusch, Styria, Turnau, Austria.
Photography
Anna Popelka, Georg Poduschka. PPAG Architects
Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka run the PPAG architects office (Vienna / Berlin) together with their team. Since its foundation in 1995, they have been working continuously in the field of research and development of architecture in the broadest sense, with the aim of realizing innovation.
Even though they design projects for the entire scope of architecture – to begin with the now world famous Enzi elements for Vienna’s Museumsquartier – in recent years their housing and school projects have become especially prominent, such as the Europan 6 residential hill and the Sonnwendviertel educational campus in Vienna, the Slim City in Aspern or the secondary school in Sauland (Norway). Special projects such as the Pah-Cej-Kah office and commercial building or the Steirereck restaurants in Vienna and Styria also saw their inception. In Berlin, PPAG are currently building a school building for an integrated secondary school and a high school in the Allee der Kosmonauten.
The office has won numerous national and international awards, including the Prize for Architecture of the City of Vienna, the Adolf Loos State Prize for Design, the Hans Hollein Art Prize for Architecture and three-time nominations for the Mies van der Rohe Award of the European Union.
Even though they design projects for the entire scope of architecture – to begin with the now world famous Enzi elements for Vienna’s Museumsquartier – in recent years their housing and school projects have become especially prominent, such as the Europan 6 residential hill and the Sonnwendviertel educational campus in Vienna, the Slim City in Aspern or the secondary school in Sauland (Norway). Special projects such as the Pah-Cej-Kah office and commercial building or the Steirereck restaurants in Vienna and Styria also saw their inception. In Berlin, PPAG are currently building a school building for an integrated secondary school and a high school in the Allee der Kosmonauten.
The office has won numerous national and international awards, including the Prize for Architecture of the City of Vienna, the Adolf Loos State Prize for Design, the Hans Hollein Art Prize for Architecture and three-time nominations for the Mies van der Rohe Award of the European Union.
Categories
Our selection
