House of Encounter - The Living Room of Open Youth Work Bregenzerwald

Nina Beck

A place emerges within a vacant school building. Rather than replacing the existing structure, the project transforms it into a house for encounter, exchange, and everyday life. It is an architecture of activation rather than replacement, creating spaces that enable participation, appropriation, and self empowerment.

The transformation begins with a simple question: what is already here, and what future can emerge from it? The existing building is understood as a resource, not only in material terms, but also through its spatial qualities, memories, and traces of use. Elements discovered on site informed the design process and became part of a new spatial narrative. Existing colors were carefully studied and developed into a coherent palette that connects old and new. Interventions remain visible, adding another layer to the continuing story of the building.

At the heart of the project lies the kitchen, conceived as the social center of the house. By combining two former teachers’ rooms, a generous communal space was created. Furniture from these rooms was carefully dismantled, adapted, and reintegrated into the new kitchen. What might have been considered waste became a valuable resource, carrying memories of the building’s previous life into its future.

The project emerged through close collaboration between architecture, pedagogy, graphic design, and project management. Design and use evolved simultaneously, allowing ideas to be tested, adapted, and refined throughout the process. Architecture became a framework for collective learning rather than a fixed final product.

The result is a house that feels both familiar and transformed. Its identity is rooted in the existing structure, yet open to future change. By building upon what already exists, the project demonstrates how architectural transformation can create social value while extending the life of the built environment.

Project Gallery

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Nina Beck AT

http://becknina.com
Gerbe 25 | 6863 Egg