Appels Architekten

Description

This family home expresses its inner life and its context of seasons, light and surroundings in a simple architectural figure. Conceptually, it distinguishes between private rooms and a generous open space for daily family life. All private rooms are artistically composed to create a sculpture of wooden cubes in between which the open space can unfold horizontally and vertically, bringing light deep into the house – even in winter – as well as affording views of the garden, the treetops and across the lake from any vantage point. The configuration and open zoning of the house facilitates the coexistence between retreat and community, enabling residents to withdraw or participate in communal living at any time. The setting in its natural environment, the generous ceiling height, the amount of daylight and the honest materials create a pleasant atmosphere and indoor climate. The use of wood as a renewable resource made it possible to reduce both the proportion of non-renewable primary energy and CO2 emissions during construction. In addition to the advantage of wood as a carbon store, the timber construction allows for a high degree of prefabrication off-site compared to conventional solid construction, and thus shorter assembly times and fewer construction site trips.