An open, light-filled home with sweeping views over the city and a deep connection to nature – that was the vision a young family sought for themselves and their two children. Initially drawn to the idea of a prefabricated home, the clients quickly reconsidered after consulting with architect Robin Klein of Cologne. His insight proved enlightening: a tight budget need not preclude an architect-designed home. In fact, custom design delivers something a prefab cannot – a living environment precisely tailored to their unique needs and desires.

Confronted with the eclectic setting of this newly developed hillside neighborhood above medieval Mayen, Klein responded with uncompromising minimalism. The home's crisp geometric form – defined by clean lines and a sharp-edged pitched roof – deliberately echoes the archetype of "house" itself, allowing it to stand confidently apart from the varied structures surrounding it. The design is remarkably compact: on a 500 m² corner lot, the footprint measures just 9.04 x 9.04 m², distributed across two full floors. Yet this austere exterior belies a sophisticated strategy rooted in solar geometry. Both energy performance and the quality of daylight are orchestrated by the building's relationship to the sun's path and seasonal light intensity – a logic that governs every window placement. The ground floor unfolds as one flowing, transparent living realm, animated by an unusually generous proportion of high-performance glass for a budget-conscious project. A 6-meter-wide east-facing panoramic window opens to a spectacular cityscape. Anchoring the center is a sculptural exposed-concrete staircase with serrated edges on both sides, connecting all levels and establishing clear spatial zones. The interplay of this sculptural element with a load-bearing wall creates an intuitive circulation: each room connects naturally to two others, inviting movement around the central staircase. The ground floor houses the entrance, kitchen, living, and dining areas; above are the master suite with dressing room, bathroom, and a study gallery. Below, the basement accommodates utility spaces, a sauna, and children's bedrooms that open directly to the garden via floor-to-ceiling windows. A brine-water heat pump ensures efficient heating; no supplementary cooling or ventilation was necessary. The result: both the stringent KfW 70 efficiency standard and the target budget were surpassed.

www.robinklein.com

(Published in CUBE Cologne Bonn 02|20)