Architect Alexander Diem came up with a unique way of increasing the privacy of a rural retreat without doing away with its expansive windows: surrounding much of it with a timber facade akin to a Chinese folding screen.
With the facade, Diem sought to provide his clients with the ability to adjust the home's openness and the amount of light it receives. A quote he provided to Design Boom shows this awareness of privacy going to the core of the project: "fence, garden, wooden facade, exterior wall, social rooms, private rooms—the farther one gets into the villa, the more private and gentle the building appears."
Diem commissioned artists to create a heavy front door recalling that of a traditional Austrian country home, while the imagery in the screen puts a new spin on harvest motifs. Head to Design Boom for more on the project, including some examples of the lantern-like effect it creates in the evening.
· Private residence by Alexander Diem features patterned timber façade [Design Boom]
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