Wolfgang Tschapeller’s St. Joseph House is a Prefab Flood-Resistant Home in Austria

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/six-flood-proof-buildings-that-can-survive-rising-tides/" target="_blank">flood-resistant </a> St Joseph House in Austria designed by studio <a href="http://www.tschapeller.com/" target="_blank">Wolfgang Tschapeller Architekt</a>, looks like a small bunker suspended above the ground. The house rests on stilts as it is situated at the edge of the Danube floodplains and combines the rigidity of concrete with mobile characteristics of prefabricated design in a funky design that can withstand the rising tides.

The structure hovers over a shallow pit which can be utilized as a car port or storage space.

The 4 supports: one-legged element, two two-legged ones and one three-legged element elevate the building from the ground by more than two meters, depending on the topology of the terrain.

Enclosed in a rigid shell-like structure, the interior spaces are marked by soft, flowing spaces and angled walls that form oddly-shaped rooms and windows.

The faceted walls form small niches that act as intimate in-between-spaces.

The interior niches make the building appear much larger than it actually is.

Despite the use of concrete, St. Joseph family house is made habitable independent of the building site.

The inner structure is made from prefabricated elements.

The small size of the building is compensated by the playful interior, which differs from the outside shell in both form and materiality.