Maidentower

Marte.Marte Architects – Dafins, Austria

What could counterbalance the imposing presence of the neighboring
Marte House in concrete, this raw, stony material, and its self-contained form?
Oxidizing steel: just as raw, just as truthful in its expression and behavior.

The interior retains the same impression—woody, warm-toned, fine-pored. However, the new exterior appearance is masculine, soaring, rising from the terrain like the nearby pear tree. The fact that it conceals a lightweight structure might suggest a Trojan trick.

Between them, a new space unfolds, complemented by a pool pressed into the earth—uncompromising, hard, not particularly rational, yet magical, idiosyncratic, and sensual. Oxidizing steel on the floor and walls, hermetic like a knight’s armor. The tower, too, appears with its steel ventilation flaps facing south and north, and fixed glazing to the east.

The hermetic nature of the concept seems grand and dominant. However, in use, it reveals surprising freedom, conveys respect, and establishes boundaries. These ensure communal living in relatively close quarters, allow for withdrawal and participation. The ambiance for the girls is unparalleled. If indeed the early years of life are formative for our spatial longings, then these girls have something very valuable over their princes: life in manifested appreciation.