Villa Mahler is more than a residence – it is an architectural attitude, a statement on the power of reduction and the beauty of the handmade. Designed by Anna Philipp for an internationally renowned artist, the project embodies the essence of Collectible Architecture: architecture as a collectible, tailor-made artwork that fuses emotion, materiality, and atmosphere into a timeless whole.

Material as Language – Architecture as Sculpture
Exposed concrete, black steel, and charred wood form the material DNA of the villa. These three elements – raw, precise, and sensual – define not only its aesthetic expression but also its emotional resonance. Every surface was burnished, patinated, charred, and refined by hand in close collaboration with the Gebrüder Eichkorn manufactory. The result is a tactile depth that unites industrial clarity with artisanal poetry, staging architecture as a tangible art form.

Light and Space – A Choreographed Atmosphere
The heart of the villa is a five-meter-high living hall – a loft-like, almost ascetic space where kitchen, dining, and living areas merge into a powerful composition. Through the fully glazed front and floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, daylight floods the room unhindered, shifting in character with the rhythm of hours and seasons. Shadows wander across concrete walls, light refracts on steel surfaces – the living hall becomes a living stage where architecture and nature intertwine.

Developed in close collaboration with the lighting manufactory PSLab, the lighting concept presents the villa as a poetic work of light. Carefully positioned luminaires guide the gaze, frame spaces, and create a subtle dramaturgy between brightness and shadow – a composition of rhythm, depth, and quiet intensity.

Interior as Art – Collectible Design in Every Detail
All furniture and textiles – from rugs and curtains to upholstery fabrics – were designed as bespoke pieces in collaboration with Gebrüder Eichkorn and Belgian textile designer Nathalie Van der Massen. A particular statement piece is the six-meter-long rug made from Trevira, linen, and Lurex yarns: its golden shimmer evokes aged light, while its design fulfills the client’s wish for a surface that looks “as if a sold-out Nirvana concert had taken place on it” – a consciously ephemeral artwork that redefines beauty through time, use, and transformation.

Facade as Skin – Between Introversion and Openness
Toward the street, the villa appears closed and enigmatic: vertically arranged slats of charred wood form a rhythmic façade reminiscent of traditional South Tyrolean barns – a nod to the client’s origin – while radiating contemporary elegance. A massive bronze handle marks the entrance – a sculptural signal that ritualizes the transition from exterior to interior and makes it haptically perceptible.

Toward the garden, the volume opens generously: frameless panoramic windows merge architecture and landscape, while the glazed upstairs library offers an expansive view over the countryside to the historic castle on the horizon.

An Architectural Composition of Craft and Intuition
Villa Mahler is the result of an intense collaboration between architects, designers, artists, and craftsmen. Through this creative dialogue emerged a house that transcends mere function – a habitable artwork expressing identity, origin, and personality. As a pioneer of Collectible Architecture, Anna Philipp and her team at Philipp Architekten demonstrate how architecture can evolve into a cultivated form of collecting – as a bespoke original of lasting value, a place of aesthetics, serenity, and creative strength.