House LK

With the help of his business partner Much Untertrifaller, architect Helmut Dietrich created this carefully balanced, Brutalist-inspired structure. Located in Hard, Austria, the private residence joins two offset rectangles in a perpendicular, cantilevered configuration. In spite of the home's contemporary envelope, the final design remains indebted to the Prairie School architectural tradition, pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright in the American Midwest during the 1920s. Dietrich interpreted the tenets of the century-old style—integration with the surrounding landscape, horizontal lines and overhanging eaves—through an updated lens. The material choice of exposed concrete, for instance, weighs down the flat, horizontal roof, introducing a point of tension between "the image of the house" and "the experience-based knowledge of its ‘impossibility.’”

Dietrich Untertrifaller in Hard, Austria. Photography by Bruno Klomfar.

“This tension between the image of the house and the provoked experience-based knowledge of its ‘impossibility’ induces fascination.”

—Helmut Dietrich

Embracing the region's bucolic landscape, the home's perimeter extends outward toward the surrounding plains. A continuous overhang provides shelter for the patio, which runs the length of the home. The resulting in-between space facilitates indoor-outdoor access, explaining the surplus of patio furniture to encourage en plein air dining. Richard Schultz’s 1966 Collection fit the all-weather needs of the space with its non-corrosive skin, making it the perfect solution come rain or shine.

Dietrich Untertrifaller in Hard, Austria. Photography by Bruno Klomfar.

“The play with the abstract that inspires the sculptural quality of the building is continued in the finishing," Dietrich explained. "Two materials [were] used: an immaterial white [...] and a dark oak wood.” Thus, the all-white powder-coated finish of the 1966 Dining Arm Chairs and 1966 Dining Table fits within the established color palette, while honoring the home's modernist pedigree.

Project Credits

Design: Dietrich and Untertrifaller
Photography: Bruno Klomfar