A penthouse – an installation in an existing structure, i.e. an empty storey in a newly erected residential and shop complex in a vacant inner-city lot in Graz, is the starting point for such a reorganisation of space. This was accomplished by seemingly simple means: rooms for quiet and rest in the east, the large, undivided housing area in the west, an infrastructure and service zone in-between as an ordering element. The flexibility and variability and the associated scenarios for use and possibilities of appropriation become apparent on closer inspection: the service zone frees up the living area and the resting rooms from the necessity of having to accommodate ballast in the form of additional storage space furniture – at the same time presenting itself as an element in its own right thanks to the strong red colouring; deliberately open areas such as the coat-rack area reveal their function immediately on entering the flat. Transverse to the service area, sliding doors and walls allow for room divisions, albeit without making them appear absolutely necessary. The room-high, continuous glass façades parallel to the service zone open up generously onto the city, allowing the flat to literally flow into the city and thus permitting the inhabitants to define the bounds between inside and outside, city and flat, according to their own wishes. In the evening, the red wall of the service zone is reflected in the light of the illuminated terrace balustrade, thus adding another dimension to the interplay of inside and out. The borderless intermeshing of city and flat lends the necessary support to the clarity and restfulness of the interior with its spacious areas, perfectly scaled with the aid of pinpoint functional features such as the fireplace or oven: a wall, ceiling, service zone, a kitchen unit, clearly arranged according to material and function – these are the fixed features. In between there are ample kinds of space for the inhabitants.

The terrace on the living-room side provides access to the roofscape via a lightweight outdoor staircase – here again the installations are sparing but firmly emplaced: a pool, adjoined by a shady roof and four areas of greenery. Larchwood planking gives the roofscape a unified surface and at the same time dynamism and direction – a strong profile in the interplay with the heterogeneous appearance of the surrounding roofs. But the link to the penthouse below is always tangible, for like the living area, glass facade and terrace one storey down, the shady roof, pool and greenery here do not permit a clear-cut allocation to inside or outside, either. Due to the fact that the larchwood ages, that its surface will change over time, and the roof will thus become one with the surrounding area – albeit equally retaining a certain detachment thanks to its homogeneity – the roofscape fits in perfectly with the overall concept:

Throughout the entire building, the inhabitant can enjoy the same boundless freedom: the freedom to define his own bounds.