n the Austrian town of Innsbruck, in the Alps, sunlight can be a sought-after element, especially in winter. Therefore, in this house recently renovated by the NOA studio, part of the reform has focused precisely on that: on distributing the house following the sunlight throughout the day. For this reason, it has been called Omarama, which means ‘space of light’ in the Maori language, an indigenous population of New Zealand with whom in one of its trips its owner had contact.
As explained by the studio itself, another of the main inspirations for interior design was the personality of its owner, who was returning to Innsbruck after 20 years living in England, Singapore, New Zealand and many other countries. “Each of our designs tells a story. In this work, a personal aspect was brought into play: the memories of a life that the client carried with her. Paintings, statues and handmade objects that needed to be displayed in an environment that enhanced them,” explains Lukas Rungger, founder of NOA.
The project consisted of transforming a bare penthouse in the center of the city into a home prepared by its owner in which light, with the imposing silhouette of the Alps as a backdrop, laid the foundations to define its 135 square meters. “Given the orientation of three sides of the large windows and the possibility that several functions followed each other in a contiguous U-shaped space, NOA arranged the different seasons of life according to the path of the sun,” they explain from the study.
Thus, to the east the morning light illuminates the entrance and a small office; To the southeast, there is the living room with a comfortable corner sofa and, to the south, you can see the kitchen. At sunset in the southwest, the warm evening light spreads over the dining table for eight. The sun thus becomes part of your decoration, as does your selection of furniture and materials.
