Inconspicuous was perhaps the right word for the small workshop building in Percha, Italy. But then the Haidacher family, carpenters with a 110-year tradition, discovered the qualities of the little house. It had previously served as the workshop building for their joinery – and was accordingly crammed full of odds and ends.
The family had the 40 square meter house converted by Lukas Mayr – and have been using it as a showroom for their kitchen designs ever since. Not much has changed on the outside. The old walls, and thus the character of an unagitated “hut”, have been retained. Only a black steel door has replaced the old wooden door and glass gables have been installed where the wooden gables used to be.
Inside, the walls, floor and the underside of the roof – in other words, all the space-defining elements – were clad in black epoxy resin. The black cladding absorbs most of the light that reaches the interior via the glass gables. The kitchen played a key role in the choice of interior cladding. After all, the small building not only houses Jochen Haidacher’s workplace, but also the meeting room – at the top of the gallery. The black gives the room a sacred effect, a deliberate choice by architect Lukas Mayr. This is intended to accentuate the kitchen island with its wood grain, which incidentally is made of cherry wood from the region.