Generous Living Spaces
A timber-frame residence that merges expansive vistas with soaring ceiling heights.
For over thirty years, this plot in an established Siegburg residential neighborhood served as a private garden and leisure area. Its north-south orientation and views toward Michaelsberg Abbey made it ideal for development. The client envisioned a hall-like timber structure that would flow seamlessly into the surrounding landscape. Architect Jan Tenbücken of Cologne designed a two-story residence with two boundary-line garages that effectively shield the garden from street view. Strategic landscaping—including a privacy fence and gate system plus mature shade trees—will further protect the property from overlooking neighbors.
The exterior employs timber-frame construction with eco-friendly cellulose insulation and wood-fiber protection. The facade's defining feature is its vertical, ventilated larch-wood cladding in three varied profile widths, left in its natural state. Expansive wood-aluminum windows and glass doors flood the interior with daylight while establishing visual and physical connections to terraces and garden beyond. Integrated roller blinds moderate solar gain on the largest glazed surfaces. The ground floor achieves its dramatic hall-like presence through a generous 3.80-meter ceiling height, while the upper floor maintains an equally impressive 3.20 meters. Structural beams shape the living spaces below, creating a flowing open-plan zone where kitchen, dining, and living seamlessly merge. Two reinforced concrete walls provide additional structural support. Garden-facing glass doors open directly onto the terrace, framing views of the abbey. The central stairwell—lit and ventilated by twin roof windows—features solid oak treads and wooden stringers that echo the home's angular geometry, creating dynamic visual tension with the living areas. Upstairs offers three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a roof terrace, and a utility room. Dark oak parquet runs continuously through all living spaces and the stairwell, while all walls are clad in light-toned maritime pine plywood, with finishes tailored to each room's function. Bathrooms showcase seamless colored concrete with matte-black fixtures. The energy strategy centers on an air-source heat pump that supplies underfloor heating and hot water storage, with solar panels planned to further optimize performance.
Photography:
Martin Scherag
www.martinscherag.de
(Published in CUBE Cologne Bonn 04|25)
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