Restrained and closed toward the street, the sculptural, compact building form opens up across its southern and northern façades into an open sculpture with freestanding glass panels and expansive terrace decks on the garden side. The building's structure of vertical and horizontal sight lines stands in deliberate and striking contrast to the surrounding landscape.

The contemporary villa, designed by Frankfurt-based ffm-architekten. Tovar + Tovar for their clients, is located in Darmstadt within a park-like setting. To preserve the charm of the surroundings throughout the interior, the architects prioritized maximum integration between generously proportioned living and leisure spaces and the expansive garden grounds. Yet the transitions between inside and outside are not the only flowing elements—the individual zones on the ground floor also interlock seamlessly. The clients also desired that the living and dining areas face the garden and feature expansive glazing, allowing them to enjoy the mature trees on the property. The architects then had to devise a solution to ensure adequate daylighting on the ground floor.

Due to urban planning requirements, the eight-meter-deep garage could only be positioned on the property's south side, which not only limits daylighting options for the ground floor but also reduces the plot width. To address this, the architects extended the building in depth and implemented a clever solution for increased natural light: a two-story atrium draws light down into the ground floor, while a luminous sculptural staircase connects the generous, open foyer to the upper level. Another key spatial element is the two-story interior courtyard, open to the outside and glazed within, planted with bamboo. On the ground floor, it separates the kitchen and living room with transparent lightness, while on the upper floor it divides the bathroom from the wellness area. Greenery further emphasizes the flowing transitions, and the glass courtyard simultaneously frames views to the garden from deeper within the space.

The generous interior offers the clients numerous opportunities to integrate custom-made furnishings, furniture, and art objects into their living environment. To ensure these pieces are architecturally contextualized, the design creates an appropriate backdrop for each situation: the kitchen island, carved from a raw-hewn boulder, is positioned within a roughly textured concrete structure; the ochre-colored guest bath vanity in fossilized wood is staged within a room clad in dark-green glass mosaic; and a display case of dark metal in the entrance hall showcases an illuminated sculpture. Throughout the house, warm greige tones, concrete, dark metal, and muted oak wood dominate. This creates a calm backdrop for furnishings, art objects, and the residents themselves.

www.ffm-architekten.de

(Published in CUBE Frankfurt 02|20)