Haus Walter in Innsbruck

摘要

Landmark Tyrolean architect Siegfried Mazagg was only 23 years old when he built Haus Walter on the western fringe of Innsbruck in 1925, in an area that was hardly developed at all. Due to its exposed, slightly elevated position, at that time the house was a landmark that could be seen from afar. This situation has changed radically in the intervening period of almost one hundred years, as this district, once sparsely occupied by villas dating from the 19th century or in a national romantic style, has been transformed into a densely developed settlement area. The meadows that once spread out here have been transformed into a mixed area of heterogeneous buildings, the sites on the slope still make up a privileged residential neighbourhood but today the structure is far more small-scaled. However, the house by Mazagg has hardly changed at all since the early 1920s. He studied at the Innsbruck Staatsgewerbeschule under Lois Weizenbacher and Clemens Holzmeister and later became their rival in a series of competitions. Ultimately, Mazagg's place in Austrian architectural history is that of a promising talent, as he was killed in a car accident when only 30. The Haus Walter, which is a protected monument, is the best proof that Mazagg was very much a child of his time. Showing an aesthetically convincing sophistication, he was able to pair elements of the backward-looking national style with the objectivity of modernism, intelligently and without showing any "cultural reservations" (Friedrich Achleitner).