"Despite the expansive windows, the house maintains a wonderful indoor climate and achieves top-tier energy efficiency. If we were building today, we'd make every decision exactly the same," say the owners—a testament that few architects could ask for. Remarkably, this praise comes despite significant initial challenges. The zoning regulations conflicted with the owners' vision, and the sloping topography presented its own obstacles. The clients had a clear ideal: a linear, minimalist home with a flat roof, extensive glazing, abundant natural light, and an open-plan living area free from unnecessary partitions. The design needed to feel spacious and refined, present a closed façade to neighboring properties, yet maximize green views along both long elevations.

The architects and owners discovered a striking hillside property with an edge-of-nature setting that promised an exceptional living experience. Yet the plot's orientation forced the hillside rooms and garden to face north, and the area's strict building code mandated a hipped roof on every property—no exceptions. To honor their clients' vision despite these constraints, the Aschaffenburg team made several strategic design moves.

Since the owners only needed living space on the hillside and ground floors, the required hipped roof was kept as shallow as possible, serving solely as storage. A bold frame was introduced around the expansive glazing on both the single-story street façade and the two-story garden side. The roof recedes sharply behind this frame, becoming virtually invisible from most angles—creating the visual effect of a clean horizontal line.

Daylight design was a fundamental consideration from the outset, extending far beyond the north-facing orientation of the residential spaces: the living area benefits from horizontal illumination on multiple sides and is additionally lit vertically through the central stairwell, which draws natural light down through the ground and basement levels. To maximize how the flowing spatial transitions in this area capture light from different directions, the architects positioned the residential spaces on the upper floor. At the client's request, the private retreat spaces with their necessary ancillary rooms are oriented toward the garden on the slope level. The central exposed concrete wall in the stairwell extends through to the roof structure, large-format tiles and floor-to-ceiling glazing with slender profiles create an open, refined, and almost industrial aesthetic on the ground floor. The cantilever staircase with wooden steps and the wooden flooring on the slope level, meanwhile, establish a warm, intimate atmosphere.

www.resonatorcoop.de

Photography Credits:

Nanna Hirsch

(Featured in CUBE Frankfurt 04|23)