The longing for nature has experienced a new boom among city dwellers, not least since the pandemic years. Cologne architect Kai Matzak was already drawn to the countryside before that. However, the large number of existing buildings he visited in the Eifel were usually too big for the family's space requirements - and why heat and cultivate areas that will never be used in the end? After a long search for a plot of land, an opportunity finally presented itself 45 minutes by car from the south of Cologne in the Eifel village of Marmagen: the "Refugio75" was built on a 500 m² plot on the outskirts of the village in ten months according to the architect's designs - a sustainably built retreat that can be lived in all seasons, tailored to 75 m² of usable living space, with an idyllic view of a paddock and existing trees that were completely preserved during construction.

A spacious, barrier-free cooking, dining and living area is located on one level and can be opened up to the terrace across its entire width with a sliding glass front. Two bedrooms, a small home office and the bathroom are located at the rear of the building. All of the exterior areas close to the house are topped by a large monopitch roof: this allows each room to be flexibly extended outwards, while at the same time providing sufficient shade for the south-facing rooms in summer and protecting the larch wood windows from rainfall all round. While the weather side is additionally closed off from the wind by a garage, the entrance is on the south-east side facing away from the wind: the generously roofed outdoor space can be used flexibly as a carport or weather-protected multi-purpose open space.

The horizontal orientation of the building runs formally through all elements - from the roof and the continuous line of the steel girders to the natural stone format and window division. All materials were used in visible quality and are deliberately from regional production: the load-bearing pumice stone from the Neuwied basin was clad with locally available Weibener tuff natural stone without additional plastic insulation in trass mortar - solid and at the same time resource-saving with low energy consumption in production and recycling. In addition, Mendiger lava basalt slabs were laid on the terrace and outdoor areas with percolation-open joints in trass monograin. The roof is covered with durable zinc panels without pre-weathering - the natural patina develops naturally after a winter. The interior is dominated by oiled wood: the kitchen units and built-in shelves are finished in light birch, while the floor is covered in robust oak planks. The bathroom contrasts with gray slate. A small heat pump for the underfloor heating, which is supported by a Norwegian wood-burning stove, is all that is needed to generate heat.

www.kai-matzak.de

Photos:

Dorit Werheid
www.picsandplan.de

(Published in CUBE Cologne Bonn 04|22)