Seeing Double: Mirror Houses by Peter Pichler

A luxury holiday house highlights an apple tree orchard.

When the owner of a restructured 1960‘s farmhouse situated in the middle of an apple tree orchard in the South Tyrol commissioned the studio of Peter Pichler to design a pair of luxury holiday houses in her property, the idea behind the new design was to come up with a solution that took advantage of the spectacular views of the Dolomite mountains whilst somehow non-intrusively embedding the new structure into the rural landscape. The result: a very sleek pair of living units been dubbed as the Mirror Houses because of the mirrors that completely cover their back. With the idea being to reflect the surrounding sky, thus making the new volumes almost invisible when seen from the owner’s house next door, the tenants of the Mirror Houses can enjoy absolute privacy in the midst of a stunning natural environment, combined with the amenities and comfort of a contemporary, well-designed small house. Apart from a private entrance and parking, each of the two units contain a kitchen and living room area, a bedroom area that can be cut-off from the rest of the house using mobile wooden panels, and a small basement for temporary storage.