marte.marte architects

Diocesan Museum . Fresach

© Gerhard Maurer

marte.marte architects . photos: © marc lins photography . + austria-architects

Where the village starts to cross over into nature, there is an intact ensemble of Protestant church, old meeting house, rectory and cemetery.

© Gerhard Maurer

© Gerhard Maurer

© Gerhard Maurer

The public square has been completed by a monolithic block placed on the gently rising land to the northeast. The foundation and main level divide the hermetic shell for the diocese’s church treasures, and bring the large cube into harmony with the scale of the surrounding buildings. On the ground floor, the foyer and the multi-functional temporary exhibition room blend into one spatial unit. Inside, one gets the impression of an open space spanning the entire width and running right up to the square in front, and light flows through a pendant into the ceiling area on the slope side. The permanent exhibition on the upper floor, a higher than expected, centred space, connects the linear stairs and the lift situated diagonally on the side walls. The eye of those walking up is caught by a cross-shaped, stamped skylight. Exposed concrete, smooth white surfaces and polished concrete emphasize the homogeneity and character of the building and carries forward the radicality of the outside’s form and material on the inside