In 2022 we began what soon became our most complex project to date. A client of us had recently acquired the historic Pashinger Villa, or Paschinger-Schlöss, to refurbish it into a holiday home. Paschinger Villa is no ordinary home. It is in the middle of a forest in old Salzburg, and is where the acclaimed Austrian writer Stefan Zweig moved near the end of World War One, and where he lived, wrote and entertained his friends until the eve of World War Two. The famous spot can only be safely reached by automobile during the warmer months from the foot of the Kapuzinerberg mountain, otherwise one is forced to walk up the long but scenic Stefan-Zweig-Weg.
Yet Stefan Zweig is only the most notorious out of dozens of people that have called Pashinger Villa their home during the four centuries of the house. And everyone of them has left their imprint. Working side by side the Salzburg Heritage Office, we began uncovering what seemed like an infinite number of layers of construction. Doors were hidden in the thickness of brick balls, floor tiles were entombed under layers of cement, stone walls hundreds of years old lurked behind generic masonry. This story of accidental archaeology forced us to update the reconstruction work on a weekly basis. Three years into the project, we continue to power through this one-of-a-kind challenge to bring the house to its many former glories, to display the rich palimpsest that history has handed us down, while at the same time fitting a modern house into it. Completion is expected by fall 2025.
