Steven Holl Architects has completed a 30-room, 31,000-sf extension for the Loisium Wine and Spa Resort in Langenlois, Austria, one hour west of Vienna.
The original hotel design celebrates the local heritage of an ancient wine vault system. The historic subterranean network includes stone passages that are 900 years old and underlies the urban plan of the town. The hotel’s first two buildings sought to create an analogical relation to the geometry of the cellars, with the wine center embedded within the vineyards and the hotel referencing the branching morphology of the vaults above.
The new extension connects to the original faults via precast vaulted rooms, with a reflecting pool at the entry that reflects the curved geometry. The roofs and walls of the expansion building are clad in Rheinzink. The matte natural material is pre-weathered to blend with the landscape and sky. Glass walls at the hotel rooms provide views to the mountains, vineyards, and existing hotel and wine center.
RETTER & Partner Ziviltechniker was the structural engineer, KWI Engineer GmbH was the MEP engineer, and Swietelsky AG was the contractor. The expansion will open to the public in summer 2021.
