The Griffner Floating House

A new icon of living

It is the collaboration of two premium brands that stand for visionary thinking and perfection: Carinthian timber construction specialist GRIFFNER commissioned Studio F. A. Porsche to design a residential building for the first time in its history. GRIFFNER manufactures the new Floating House in its factory build to order in various designs in an exclusive edition.

The result of this collaboration is an iconic masterpiece of functional home design. Like all GRIFFNER houses, the Floating House stands for sustainable construction using wood, healthy living and the best building biology. It consistently meets the highest standards of craftsmanship and architecture. Striking stylistic elements of the two-storey house are the continuous façade bands and the black glass tiles that encase the entire first floor and give the house its unmistakable floating shell.

The interior ceiling height of up to 5.85 meters is impressive. In addition, the Floating House features a wide range of technical innovations.

These include floor-to-ceiling windows, which are installed into the walls at the factory, the monumental entrance door with an asymmetrical pivot, and unique precision craftsmanship such as invisible standing seams or downspouts for roof drainage, which are elegantly concealed behind the glass facade.

Inside, the two floors are connected by a cantilevered staircase with a continuous glass railing.

Only authentic, sustainable materials of the highest quality, such as wood and glass, are used. The Floating House features additional design highlights created by Studio F. A. Porsche from brands such as Duravit (Qatego bathroom series), LIGHT-POINT (INLAY and BLADE lighting collections), HAFI (Premium Design door handles), and the legendary 247 pool table, to which a dedicated lounge in the house is dedicated.

“For Studio F. A. Porsche, design is never just aesthetics, but above all content. This attitude and the legacy of German engineering by our founder Prof. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche form the basis for our work as designers,” says Tobias Hüttl, Design Director of the Porsche Lifestyle Group. It is a new perspective that the designers have adopted for this project: They not only look at the object itself, but are completely surrounded by it. The construction method relies on typical GRIFFNER advantages. The timber construction forms the heart of the Floating House. “The limits of what is possible have been redefined. For example, with the oversized room height of up to 5.85 meters or maximum light flow through the floor-to-ceiling window fronts. This creates a new feeling of absolute freedom,” says Hüttl.

This modular philosophy opens up a wide range of possibilities and can, in theory, be expanded indefinitely. Another defining stylistic element is the series of facade bands, which, at varying heights, allow additional light to enter the building from the outside, creating the illusion that the individual structures are floating. The black glass tiles that clad the ground floor give the building its distinctive appearance.

The incoming light is refracted in various ways, creating an impressive reflection of the surroundings. A technical masterpiece: using a specially patented process, each individual glass tile is invisibly attached to the building by hand.

“For Studio F. A. Porsche, design is never just about aesthetics; above all, it is about substance. This philosophy and the legacy of German engineering excellence left by our founder, Prof. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, form the foundation of our work as designers,” says Tobias Hüttl, Design Director of the Porsche Lifestyle Group.

The designers have adopted a new perspective for this project: they are not merely observing the object itself, but are completely surrounded by it. The construction method relies on typical GRIFFNER advantages. Timber construction forms the heart of the Floating House. “The boundaries of what is possible have been redefined. For example, with the oversized ceiling height of up to 5.85 meters or maximum light penetration through the floor-to-ceiling windows. This creates a new sense of absolute freedom,” says Hüttl.