Current Ongoing Projects:
RIC, Conversion of an apartment, PT
GH, Garden pavilion, AT
LO, Interior, AT

 

( Studio )       Bonfim

( 1 )
Existing situation, 2023 ( 2 )
Landhaus Khuner, 1933, Adolf Loos( 3 )Proposal, 2024( 4 )
Guilhotina, Arquitectura Popular em Portugal, Ordem dos Arquitectos, 1988( 5 )
Existing situation, 2023( 6 )Proposal, 2024( 7 )A Casa de Quem Faz as Casas, Manuel Graça Dias, 2016  ( 8 )Proposal, 2024 ( 9 )Sketch, 2024

( RIC ) Rua da Igreja de Cedofeita

Conversion of an apartment
L:    Porto, PT
Y:    ongoing since 2024 A flat in a narrow, elongated house. Straddled between a tranquil narrow street and a green courtyard. From the 1970s in the centre of the city of Porto. Its appearance, organisation and structure reflect the time of its construction and the manner of the place.
    The conversion reorganises the space in favour of two generous rooms at the bright extremities of the property. This is where people gather, are living and working, cooking and eating. In alcoves, the sleeping quarters are reduced to their essence and, together with the sanitary area, they meander along a functional area in the depth of the floor plan.
( 1 )
Approaching the house, 2020( 2 )
Interior, 2020
( 3 )
Floor plans:
± 0 arriving, +1 sleeping
+2 living/cooking/dining, +3 working( 4 )
Interior, 2020, Photo by Lukas Walcher ( 5 )
 Sections( 6 )
Interior, 2020, Photo by Lukas Walcher ( 7 )
Exterior, 2020, Photo by Lukas Walcher

( AS ) Am Salvenberg

Family house
L:     Westendorf, Tyrol, AT
P:    Michael Hafner and Lukas Walcher
Y:    2018–2020High above the village, on the steep southern slope of the Salvenberg, the house sits on the edge of a small hamlet. As elongated and compact as possible in its cubature, the building follows the terrain and makes use of the sloping site.    
    The four storeys follow a clear division into a slender service layer in the depth of the floor plan and a serviced room layer in the front. This organization and the narrow layout of the floor plan enable optimal orientation and opening of the rooms to the surrounding landscape, views and light.
    Vertically, the topography of the plot determines the layering of the room programme. While the more introverted functions are firmly set in the stone, the living space rises up from the slope and intertwines with the exterior space. The living space also creates a spatial, sculptural interweaving with the level above with its partial two-storey structure.
    The materiality of the clear volume with its pitched roof is a direct reference to the location. The mineral base of the overlapping walls spanning a forecourt in the rocky terrain. Above it, the dark wooden façade blends into the forest behind it in terms of materiality and colouring, while at the same time referring to the image of sunburnt farmhouses that is so prevalent in the region.
( 1 )
Bürgerstadel “Himmel von See”, Transformation( 2 )
 Reference, Dzieduszycki Palace
( 3 )
Reference, “Himmel der Bayern”, Hacker-Zelt, Sebastian Lehner
( 5 )
Sketch, Layer, Growing and shrinking barn 

( LUP ) See, Lupburg

Competition
L:     See, Bavaria, GER
Y:    2024In addition to the replacement building for a fire station, the conversion of an old barn into a public ‘Bürgerstadel’ was a key part of the competition. Differently sized and thermal-conditioned rooms can be used and layered in different ways using sliding walls, curtains and a retractable tent - ‘Himmel von See’. The public barn grows or shrinks depending on the season. This made it possible to insulate only a few parts of the barn without destroying the characteristic wooden structure and making it a spatial experience.
( 1 )
Transformation of the table, short side( 2 )
m26, Adolf Krischanitz, Color concept: Osklar Putz, 1989 ( 3 )
Transformation of the table, long side
( 4 )
Ticketing, work, exhibitions, presentation, sales, storage( 5 )
Transformation of the cabinet( 6 )
Triptychon Madonna del Popolo, 1514( 7 )
Detail of the cabinet( 8 )
Mobile cabinet module

( KH ) Kunsthalle

Proposal for the furnishing of the reception area of the Kunsthalle Wien, invited competition
L:     Kunsthalle MuseumsQuartier, Kunsthalle Karlsplatz, Wien, AT
Y:    October 2024
The Nomadic Furniture for the two locations of the Kunsthalle Wien. 
    Kunsthalle Wien Karlsplatz, proposed elements: (Two) table(s). According to Adolf Krischanitz, we let ‘die Kiste fliegen’. In order to reinforce the externally absent closedness of the space in the proposed elements in the interior and to preserve the horizontal spatial continuity. In its informal conception, the table is intended to be the communicative centre of the space. It can be used as a surface for ticketing, work, exhibitions, presentation, sales and storage. It is changeable, variable, mobile - nomadic - according to occasion and use. Depending on the requirements, in its fanned-out configuration it is the main protagonist in day-to-day business and in its closed configuration a projection surface for special occasions - or simply a clean desk.
    Kunsthalle Wien MuseumsQuartier, proposed elements: one cabinet, two roller cabinets. The proposed elements for the MuseumsQuartier also follow the formal logic of the furniture for Karlsplatz. In accordance with this space and its specific requirements, the furniture here is more introverted. When required, it quickly closes itself off and absorbs everything. At the same time, they are also changeable, variable, mobile - nomadic - depending on their use. The heights of the shelves can be flexibly adjusted, the furniture can be freely combined and operated from several sides. Care has always been taken to ensure that the elements can continue to be used even if the sales area is relocated to another space.
( 1 )
Photo by Michael Hafner 
( 2 )
Photo by Michael Hafner( 3 )
Photo by Simon Oberhofer
( 4 )
Cruciform column, Barcelona Pavilion, Mies Van der Rohe, 1929( 5 )
Photo by Simon Oberhofer

( C ) Colors

Exhibition with Lecture series and Symposium, Forum Stadtpark Graz    
Diskursiv No.2, Colors in collaboration with Julian Brües and Philipp Sternath
P:    Michael Hafner and Simon Oberhofer
Y:    January 2023Color has always been a powerful tool in architecture: it influences the perception of space and form, conveys messages or intentions and guides the sensory experience of the observer. Nevertheless, it has lost importance in architectural practice and teaching. 
This is why we are placing color at the center of our discourse and attempting to bring it back to the fore with the exhibition Diskursiv No.2, Colors. In order to give the central theme the necessary presence, the exhibition design withdraws from the color spectrum in order to simultaneously take it up from its surroundings and multiply it. 
The different positions, approaches and working methods on the subject were discussed in a series of lectures and a symposium with Jan De Vylder, among others, and collected in the form of the exhibition and the publication Diskursiv No.2, Colors. With works by Nuno Melo Sousa, Nikola Hergovich, Michael Reindel, Institut Vierzehn and Luca Tommasi as well as 90 contributions from international architectural practices.
( 1 )
Film still from Vale Abraão, Manoel de Oliveira, 1993 ( 2 )
Águas do Moledo,  Model, 1:200, Photo by Tom Biela ( 3 )Águas do Moledo,  Model, 1:25, Photo by Tom Biela ( 5 )Águas do Moledo,  Model,  1:25, Photo by Tom Biela
( 4 )Film still from Vale Abraão, Manoel de Oliveira, 1993 ( 6 )Águas do Moledo,  Model,  1:25, Photo by Tom Biela( 7 )Sections, short side( 8 )Arquitectura Popular em Portugal, 1988( 9 )Águas do Moledo, 
Visualisation( 10 )Igreja de Santa Maria, Álvaro Siza Vieira, 1996, Photo by Michael Hafner

( AdM ) O Douro e as Águas do Moledo. A topological approach.

A rehabilitation and expansion of the thermal baths in Caldas do Moledo
L:    Caldas do Moledo, PT
Y:    2021This work is based on an extensive topological approach to the Douro Valley. This resulted in a concrete examination of the structures of the abandoned thermal baths between the towns of Peso da Regua and Mesão Frio on the banks of the river in Caldas do Moledo. The design reinterprets the abandoned structures in and along the edge of the thermal park, attempts to build the ensemble further and pick up on sunken traces. Various interventions are being developed: in addition to a communal pavilion, which serves as a new square for the village and is permeated by the thermal park, and the rehabilitation of the fluvial baths, which make the water of the river accessible again, the most significant part is the extension of the thermal baths. Referencing the context, the design emphasises the manner of the surroundings and responds to the specific dynamics of the valley's linear topography.

( Studio )



( Studio )       Bonfim

Architectural practice
AT:    Aichhorngasse 4/3, 1120 Wien
PT:    Rua da Igreja de Cedofeita 19/andar 2, 4050–306 Porto
M:     mail@studiobonfim.com

Registered office: Studio Bonfim, Diehlgasse 50/27, 1050 Wien    
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Katharina Hohenwarter, Arqta Dipl.-Ing., is an architect in Vienna and Porto. She studied at the Graz University of Technology and undertook a research stay at the Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto. After graduating, she worked with Claudia Cavallar, among others, and held teaching positions at the Vienna University of Technology - at the Institut für Gestaltungslehre and Institut für Gebäudelehre. Since 2019 Hohenwarter has been working with Michael Hafner as Studio Bonfim. She currently holds a position as university assistant at Graz University of Technology alongside the Chair of Integral Architecture Prof. Lisa Yamaguchi. In 2021, she became a member of the association for architectural research Diskursiv.M:    hohenwarter@studiobonfim.com

Michael Hafner, Arqto Dipl.-Ing., is an architect in Vienna and Porto. He studied at the Graz University of Technology and at the Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto. After graduating, he worked in various architectural offices in Austria, such as ARTEC Architekten. Since 2022, he has been teaching and researching at the Institut für Entwerfen im Bestand und Denkmalpflege at the Graz University of Technology. Alongside this, he has been working with Katharina Hohenwarter as Studio Bonfim since 2019. He became a member of the association for architectural research Diskursiv in 2021 and was awarded with the Start Scholarship for Architecture and Design in 2023.M:    hafner@studiobonfim.com

Exhibitions, Publications (a selection) 
  • 100,00 Jahre Tanken, with ENBEDE (TU Graz), Graz 2024
  • Vom Ersten Strich bis zum Letzten Stein, ZTK Steiermark/Kärnten, 2023
  • Ortstermin Galerie Konzett and Bar Limarutti, with ENBEDE (TU Graz), 2023
  • Colors, Forum Stadtpark Graz, 2023
  • Modelle, ZT-Kammer für Steiermark und Kärnten, 2022
  • Spurensuche zu Günther Domenig, with ENBEDE (TU Graz), Graz, 2022
  • Models Diskursiv No.1, Co-publisher and Author of the Epilogue, 2022
  • Kino Welt Wien, Filmarchiv Austria, mit BUERO41A, 2020
  • Graz Architectural Guide, DOM publishers, Co-author, 2019
Teaching(a selection)
  • Open Design Academy, Institut für Gebäudelehre, TU Vienna, WS 23/24
  • Re-used Density, with Avenier Cornejo architectes, TU Vienna, SS 23
  • Open Design Academy, Institut für Gebäudelehre, TU Vienna, WS 22/23
  • Grundlagen des Entwerfens, Institut für Gestaltungslehre, TU Vienna, WS 2022/23
  • Exterior Spaces of the City, International Design Workshop, at RWTH Aachen, 2022
Awards, Prizes, Scholarships (a selection)
  • Start Scholarship for Architecture and Design, 2023
  • GAD Awards, Graz Architecture Diploma Awards, 3. Prize, 2021
  • Herbert Eichholzer Architecture Award, 2. Prize, 2019

( RIC )
( AS )
( LUP )
( KH )
( C )
( AdM )