The Egger family home is located in the historic center of Lana. 20/A of Am Gries faces west onto a small square surrounded by a charming historical heritage. Messner Architects was tasked with renovating the historic dwelling for the artist, where today he lives with his wife Birgit and daughter Maya
20/A of Am Gries and the hidden parallel world within it
20/A: this is how the Messner Architects studio named the project for the artist Hannes Egger at 20/A Am Gries, in the historic center of Luna, a place for thought and work, retreat and exchange
The two upper floors of the house were renovated about ten years ago as an inner structure, a house within the house, made habitable. The ground floor, originally used as a workshop, was now to be reclaimed as a studio in a second construction project. The house at Am Gries 20/A presents itself to the square with a facade of discreet windows, a gabled roof, and an arched gateway. The east facade, with a wooden staircase and balcony, overlooks the garden and shows its welcoming side
The shell of the building inside was made as a ventilated wooden beam structure, as in the upper floors. A central spatial cell with an internal bathroom is presented within the existing building and is freely accessible on three other sides as a storage space with drawers, shelves, closets, and an accessible archive
To increase the natural light on the ground floor, an existing opening in the east facade was enlarged and replaced with a generous window. On the square side, the wooden gate was replaced by a door element clad in copper sheet. From a small additional building, the former pigsty, which is now used as a workshop, bicycle storage, and deposit, access to the studio is through a new door opening
Hannes Egger's studio is a place of thought and work, of retreat and exchange at the same time. Around the central functional cell, spaces are developed that allow for various uses, from exhibition and presentation, to work, to reading and experimenting, to being together and celebrating
The building appears almost unchanged from the outside and left to the passage of time, while inside there is a parallel world, detached from the immediate context. Only at one point does the casual glance at the old wall bring the studio, the artist, and his visitors back to the house at Am Gries 20/A
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