Emilian Hinteregger
The emotional bond with architecture can create value, which is crucial in dealing with existing buildings. The aim of this master thesis is to investigate and to illustrate that emotional value based on the exemplary study of the Haus Hofer and to emphasize its potential for the future design process. Haus Hofer is a modest and rural dwelling, linked to small scaled agriculture. It is set as a part of a small village in South Tyrol in the 1960ies and it is home to a large family. Now, on the edge of generational change, the house is caught in a vacuum between a defining past and an uncertain future. It either is of much economical value anymore, nor is it of any historical interest. Still there is some melancholy to it in view of its future decay, which raises the question of the actual value of Haus Hofer and how the building could be treated in future. By analyzing the building with its surrounding context and its protagonists, it becomes clear that the family member's bond to the house is defining for its value. Evanescence, atmosphere, memory, home and identity are the fundamental elements of the sought, emotional value. They are also important reference points to interrelate the emotional value with common terms of value and integrating it into value theory. The essence of this thesis is a portrait in three parts, consisting of a photographic, a textual and a hand-drawn component. In this way the emotional value can be illustrated perceptibly, reflected comprehensibly and translated into a concrete design approach. This consists of minimalistic interventions on the built structure, which, on the one hand, are conserving the identity of the house and, on the other hand, are further developing the same in order to suit the future residents' needs.
The master thesis Haus Hofer: Ein Porträt - Der emotionale Wert von Architektur was supervised by Hans Gangoly (Institute of Design and Building Typology).