When a family builds a house, it seems only fair that all family members should have a say. After all, everyone should live in the new home. It may be that this was the background to the client family's wish when they approached noma Architekten. It was to be a house "like children would draw it". Classic, in other words, with a pitched roof and gable walls. This fitted in well with the established residential area and the development plan, which specified the height. With a roof pitch of 45 degrees, the architects were able to make optimum use of the space. However, this house is not quite as classic as it sounds. Rather, it proves how individual living space can be created from classic elements.

What begins as a house made of solid brickwork with a thickness of 42.5 cm merges into a reinforced concrete construction covered with aluminum rhomboids. A light joint made of polycarbonate multi-skin sheets is inserted between them as a connecting element. The material emphasizes the functionality of the architecture, which assigns functional rooms and the granny apartment, designed as a maisonette, to the front part of the building. The architects created the internal circulation in the light gap, with a solid concrete staircase up to the kitchen level and a free-span steel staircase above. The third part of the building, which opens up to the garden with its glazed gable wall, contains the shared rooms.  

"We based the design on the daily routine of the users," says architect Nora Woborny, describing the concept. The focus was unmistakably on family life, which can be seen in details such as the kitchen worktop that merges into the play area. The children can play on a mezzanine level above the living area, separated yet connected by visual references. This also creates a cozy living room corner below, while the adjoining dining area has a generous air space over two levels and is thus also visually connected to the kitchen level. This shell made of exposed concrete, wood and white fixtures has no frills and gives the rooms a tidy, clear structure. Space for family life, where everyone can have their own space and yet being together is possible in a pleasant, almost incidental way.

www.noma-architekten.de

(Published in CUBE Stuttgart 03|20)