A House in Aluminium

An award-winning façade commands attention at this multi-family home on Weiherweg

The address "am Weiherweg" became the project's name—a designation that proves somewhat deceptive. It conjures images of serenity and pastoral charm. In reality, however, the Dachau apartment building faces quite different circumstances. Situated directly on a busy through-road at the town's edge, the site posed acoustic challenges that prompted the Munich firm lynx architecture to devise an ingenious solution: a sound-dampening shell that extends across the entire roof. From street level, the building reads as an entirely enclosed, barn-like form. By night, interior lighting reveals fleeting silhouettes of corridors and entry doors. From the west, however, the narrow elevation tells another story entirely. The roof folds into two sharp gables, and the building begins to open toward the south. Within the three-storey structure, six two-person households inhabit apartments averaging 65 m². The façade cladding—applied to three sides—comprises specially formed and perforated aluminium sheets rather than the wooden slats one might initially expect. These sheets wrap the building like protective armour, with even the eastern bicycle storage area receiving the same treatment. Reinforced concrete construction supports the entire composition. A walkway gallery provides access to the units, which orient themselves toward the south where floor-to-ceiling glazing, balconies, and terraces engage a modest garden. Remarkably, an underground garage accommodating six vehicles fits within the approximately 800 m² plot. The roof pitch reaches 45 degrees. The staggered double gable creates, in effect, doubled roof surfaces where strategically placed windows proportion the building's considerable depth into a harmonious whole.

Credit must also go to Engel Metalworks for executing this curtain-like envelope—no small feat. The project consumed 6,500 kilograms of aluminium sheet. The bronze-toned material arrived in coil form, was then perforated, folded at multiple angles, and finally fitted and fastened on-site. Nine months of labour went into this commission—arguably one of the most extraordinary assignments Matthias Engel and his team have undertaken.

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