Iconic new spa opens in Austrian Hotel Krallerhof

A new spa, Atmosphere by Krallerhof, has opened in the five-star Hotel Krallerhof in Leogang, Austria.

Designed by award-winning Hamburg architect Hadi Teherani, the spa has taken two years to design and construct.

Built into a spiral-shaped atrium to create a sphere of relaxation, Atmosphere by Krallerhof includes a 5,500sqm natural bathing lake with a whirlpool and a 50m infinity pool.

Spa manager Dagmar Eberhard is overseeing a team of eight therapists.

There are 17 treatment rooms and the spa has partnered with Chiva-Som for treatments, which take place in the spa’s Refugium.

In harmony with nature

The organically designed spa, made of glass, wood and exposed concrete, blends into the Salzburg landscape.

A range of regeneration experiences includes a blue grotto, an infra-salt room and an ice grotto.

Other facilities include a rotunda with Alpine Zen garden and water stairs, Finnish and herbal saunas with panoramic views of the Leogang mountains, a relaxation room, yoga room and the Lakeside Café.

Water and atmosphere are the central theme in the spa, and a sun deck frames the bathing lake, which is seamlessly integrated into the infinity pool.

Teherani says Atmosphere by Krallerhof is quite deliberately “a design that is subordinate to nature, but still present.”

Nature played a key role Teherani’s choice of materials: linden, ash and oak, Alpine marble, glass and exposed concrete – mainly from the region – form a light-flooded, open space.

“The design was always there for me, I just had to recognise it,” he says.

Biodiversity and sustainability

Sustainability was a top priority in the construction of Atmosphere.

The entire hotel is heated with surplus material from the neighbouring sawmill. The bathing lake was filled once from the in-house spring and its water level will now regulate through a natural cycle of evaporation and precipitation.

A newly created plant belt in the lake supports biodiversity as well as flora and fauna.

Krallerhof uses wood chips from a timber construction company 200 meters away to heat the infinity pool with its own biomass plant.

The in-house photovoltaic system supplies the 140 kilowatts peak energy demand.

A family affair

The hotel and spa is run by Altenberger family, now in its fourth generation of management.

“With Atmosphere by Krallerhof we would like to give those who visit us the opportunity to leave the often demanding everyday life behind them,” says Philipp Altenberger, deputy managing sirector of the hotel.

“It fills us with particular pride that we are working almost exclusively with companies, resources and materials from the region on this major project.

“In this way, we are not only creating an architectural milestone, but also giving an economic boost to the Salzburg area.”

“Modern humans are inundated with sensory impressions of all kinds. The world is spinning faster and people are constantly under pressure,” adds Gerhard Altenberger.

“Atmosphere is a place to counteract this pace. The focus shifts back to the individual and nature takes centre stage.”

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