Page 4 - AIT0123_Pedevilla

M r Rollmann, in 2019/2020 you worked at pedevilla architekten for 18 months.
Since then, you have been working there regularly in your semester breaks
and parallel to your studies from Vienna. There must be good reasons for that ... ?
Yes, I can identify very well with the buildings and the philosophy of the office. That’s
why I stay part of the team and like to be close to the action, also from Vienna. I’ve rea-
lised that the best way to do this while in Vienna is through PR. When it comes to desi-
gning, planning and building, I am particularly impressed by the management style of
the Pedevilla brothers. Their many years of experience and their mentality make working
on projects so special. There is no such thing as "that’s not possible". Bigger challenges
are broken down into smaller ones until they can be solved one by one. Anyone can learn
a lot in a very short time, also about oneself and one’s own resilience. You are encoura-
ged above all through varied and growing challenges, which you can approach with re-
latively great freedom as a team member. At the same time, a lot of personal responsi-
bility and stamina are expected. It’s a great team effort that I also appreciate on a perso-
nal level! As a result, the architecture of pedevilla architekten is a beautiful counter-de-
sign to all the excess we are exposed to in everyday life. Armin once described it like this:
Luxury is to have as little as possible, but to have it in perfection.

r Please give us an insight into the office’s size and structure. Who is behind the pro-
jects of pedevilla architekten? Haus G: Attraktiver Sitzplatz in den tiefen Fensterlaibungen, ... • Attractive seat in the deep window reveals, ...
We are a mixed team of ten architects, half German-speaking, half Italian-speaking, half
female, half male, with different cultural and academic backgrounds. For me, it was a
very inspiring environment. I think it's great that methods and ways of working are very
different within the team. This also makes it possible to form new teams that are tailored
to the respective task – from a large sports park to a chocolate shop. Depending on the
task, the ideal groups are usually quite obvious. Who is suitable – also from a human „Wir bauen mit lokalen Materialien,
point of view – for which client? Who has good experience in which field? Scheduling mit lokalen Handwerkern und den
and organisation are always subject to a great deal of personal responsibility. All projects
are jointly developed in teams that may seem quite small at first. In the design phase, Charakteren der Menschen, die hier leben.
these are Armin and Alex with a maximum of two staff members.
Es ist keine intellektuelle, sondern eine
r The Pedevilla brothers Alexander, born in 1971, and Armin, born in 1973, founded emotionale Angelegenheit: Wir wollen
their office in 2005. What is the division of labour between the two? unseren Projekten die Möglichkeit geben,
Important decisions, especially design and strategic ones, are always made jointly by the
two brothers, even if only one of them is still directly involved in the project and oversees in Würde zu altern.“
its implementation. Because the two have very different characters, careful discussions
are held in advance. One’s word carries a lot of weight and is kept. Both are responsible Alexander und Armin Pedevilla
for everything in the office management. Considering the small project teams, this means
that each employee is allowed to take on more responsibility than is perhaps usual in
other offices. This structure demands and encourages independent thinking and working.
In order to know what to do quietly or what to discuss one more time, you might have
to abandon some habits. We Germans usually want to be on the safe side and, with our
increased need to talk, tend to foist responsibility off on others. This can quickly become ... Perfektion in Materialien und Details • ... perfection of materials and details
a barrier or lead to adventurous solo actions. The Tyrolean mentality is different. You have
to learn the ropes before you can become so easy-going.

r Tell us about House G, a house with 75-centimetre-thick insulating concrete walls
that you worked on intensively!
House G is located in the main village of the Brenner municipality. It grows from a slope
with a gradient of up to 50 degrees. It stands on the steepest part of the site, a pulpit-like
projection that offers a view of the village and the valley. This view became an important
motif for the design. The tower-like shape with a small footprint was derived from the
slope. Another question arose: What can climate-friendly building look like at 1,110 me-
tres above sea level? The large temperature variations require a certain thermal storage
mass in order to achieve a comfortable and, above all, constant indoor climate without
too much technology. We therefore decided on a monolithic insulating concrete shell,
which also made it possible to realise simple and robust details of high quality. The ma-
terial was perfect for the versatile requirements. It protects, supports and insulates. In
terms of construction, the house was certainly a piece of uncharted territory.

r What are the interior qualities of House G in Gossensaß?
The interiors should radiate a beautiful warmth, familiarity and security. To achieve this, Fotos: Gustav Willeit
we used untreated fir, handmade terrazzo floors and plaster, burnished brass and hand-

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