If decidedly unfashionable cuckoo clocks, Tyrolean kitsch and yodeling form your memories of Austria, update your impressions next time you are in Innsbruck. It is hard to not look up in Innsbruck, the provincial capital of Tyrol, with the Nordkette Mountains hulking all around. But focus a bit lower and zero in on the new Town Hall. The Dominique Perrault-designed building is on the Old Town’s (Altstadt) main artery, the 17th century Maria-Theresien Strasse.
Go up to the rooftop Lichtblick Cafe (also by Perrault) and marvel at the magnificent 360-degree views. The place is fashionable, sleek and definitely void of Alpen-kitsch. The walls are floor-to-ceiling glass and the roof is a translucent membrane allowing daylight through. At night, the entire cafe looks like a large glowing lighting fixture in the sky.
The 54-year-old Perrault is highly regarded for his ability to allow landscapes to be transformed but not interfered by his buildings. His notable upcoming projects include the EWHA Women’s University in Seoul, Korea (2008), the new Mariinski Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia(2009), and the Olympic Tennis Centre in Madrid, Spain (2009). By Tuija Seipell.
Recent posts
-
February 7, 2023
Pacific Ocean Villa, Malibu, California, USA
Mixing several components relevant to the owners and highlighting the surrounding nature, interior designer Marc Berger of Los Angeles-based Hunterhouse Design, has created an informal...
-
February 4, 2023
Into The Forest II – Jan Lenhardt
German-based photographer Jan Lenhardt often seeks nature as the subject of his work. In this piece, we’re again plunged into the depths of the forest,...
-
January 24, 2023
Modernized Georgian Colonial Farmhouse, East Hampton, Long Island – New York
When Jordan Carlyle and Mario Margelist tired of constant commuting – Marglist commuted from Switzerland to New York – and the hectic life of New...
-
December 7, 2022
Sculptural Water Slides by Splinterworks, Bath, UK
Water slides have finally grown up. Bath, United Kingdom-based Splinterworks is creating stunning grown-up water slides that resemble outdoor sculpture more than they resemble traditional...
-
November 24, 2022
Bass Coast Farmhouse, Victoria, Australia
The form is indisputably farm-like. So, do we care that the house is not on a farm, neither are the owners farmers? No we don’t,...
-
November 23, 2022
Aesthé, Marais, Paris, France
Aesthe is a Parisian aesthetic medical centre that is minimalist to the extreme yet it also exudes warm and inviting elegance. It is a fully...
-
November 23, 2022
Parrilla House, Armadale, Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne-based architecture firm Powell & Glenn has designed a stunning home for a couple and their three children with outdoor-living as one of the key...
-
November 21, 2022
Moos Bar & Café, Spaarndammerbuurt, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
With designers and architects tripping over themselves to interpret the latest, popular trends – often at the urging of their clients – it is easy...
-
November 14, 2022
Yuputira, Mariko Mori Residence, Miyako Island, Japan
Japanese multidisciplinary artist Mariko Mori (b. 1967) reminds us in many ways of another Japanese female multidisciplinary artist, the 93-year-old Yayoi Kusama. Both are eccentric...
-
November 2, 2022
Bermagui Beach House, New South Wales, Australia
There are places for which the only suitable description is “a place to breathe.” Over the years, we have featured quite a few of these...
-
October 25, 2022
Cases de Son Serra, Bunyola, Mallorca, Spain
Serendipity, good luck and a great deal of trust and courage were all needed to make this elegant restoration of a century-old traditional Mallorcan possessió or...
-
October 23, 2022
Jake Arnold Restoration Of A 1951 House, Beverly Hills, California, USA
It is not news to The Cool Hunter readers that we value tasteful restorations. We believe that new and flashy and complicated is easy. Restored...