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SERIEN IKONEN BEWOHNEN • LIVING IN ICONS

Das Haus wird über die Brunnenstube betreten. • The house is entered through the well chamber.

85 Jahre hat das Haus auf dem Buckel. • The house has been around for 85 years. Mein Lieblingsplatz: Schwimmteich am Grundstücksrand • My favourite spot: swimming pond

H igh up in the mountains of Tyrol – still within the municipal boundaries of the weeks to the house which is still owned by the Schmitthenner family and readily ren-
ted to enthusiasts of architecture. Having arrived at the Lärchenhof, we were enrap-
town of Imst but a safe distance from the brutally built-up municipal area of the
tourist stronghold – stands the so-called Lärchenhof in a lonely meadow at the edge of tured. Everything looked just as it did in 1932. Even the original furniture was still
the forest. Just two small hotels, buildings in late-modern “Tyrolean style”, have there: cupboards, tables, chairs and even the three-armed, waist-high candleholder
approached within sight in the past 85 years. Apart from that, the house and its imme- which can be so clearly seen in the photographs of the large living room. And thus
diate surroundings have remained unchanged until today. It was designed in 1932 by the something special that my friend wanted to show me became manifest.
the well-known Stuttgart architect and university professor Paul Schmitthenner as a Schmitthenner’s Lärchenhof was obviously not yet a case for refurbishment even after
holiday home for himself and his family. In his Lärchenhof, the celebrated and at other 70 years. Admittedly, at first glance the wooden house does not look particularly
times very busy architect from the large city liked to play the earthy mountain farmer. modern. It lacks everything capricious and extravagant characteristic of Bauhaus
That it was just a role can be clearly seen when looking at the “stately barn”, as Bruno architecture. In a remarkable way, modernity’s claim to timelessness is met by the
Reichlin once called the house. Everything turned out to be just a bit too upscale to Lärchenhof which, like this or similar to this, could also have been constructed alrea-
really warm the dry heart of a Tyrolean farmer. The layout is simple and functional. dy in 1832 or even as early as in 1732.
There is no Herrgottswinkel [crucifix in the corner]. The construction of larch wood
alone determines the scale and the form. Only sparsely furnished, everything is redu- The simplicity of the house fascinates but challenges as well
ced to what is necessary and thus attractive. In short, the house is modern but without
emphasizing its modernity. Schmitthenner liked to talk in this context about the “qua- The impression which the house made on me when I first visited it was lasting and
lity of the inconspicuous”, a concept which hardly seems viable anymore in our current influences my approach to architecture to this day. The natural simplicity of the
attention economy. All the same and maybe just because of this, the Lärchenhof has Lärchenhof again and again fascinates me. And making a fire in the large living-room
been fascinating me ever since I first visited it twelve years ago. furnace with kindling and wood likewise continues to be an adventure for me. At the
same time, it is touching to experience the amount of respect for the original approach
A modern house in the mountains but not alpine architecture with which Schmitthenner’s family conserves the house to this day: Only little has been
changed in it after the death of the builder. For some years now, there has been a sauna
At the time, I was just prior to my diploma at the Weimar Bauhaus University. A close but there is still no television set. My favourite spot: The small, circular swimming pond
friend wanted to show me something special and, for this purpose, invited me for two at the edge of the property! At the beginning of August, I will make the trip once more.

068 • AIT 6.2017