Location, location, location – what matters in real estate doesn't always resonate with homeowners. A steep lot, unfavorable site conditions, or design restrictions that clash with your vision can easily spark doubt. That is, unless the owners possess imagination. Take Bad Vilbel: a steeply sloping, tree-shaded property with an existing steep-roofed building seemed an unlikely candidate. Yet the appeal wasn't immediate—sometimes the best opportunities hide beneath the surface. Here it was the chance to build anew, just 20 minutes from Frankfurt's heart. Ultimately, location proved decisive, though the challenging topography demanded considerable ingenuity from the architectural team.

With the road flanking the southern boundary and the terrain sloping away to the north, the conditions seemed anything but promising. Architect Andreas Schuchardt met this challenge with a thoughtful approach, positioning the house at the easternmost edge of the property—right where building codes allowed, tucked against the street above. The garden is enclosed by several single-story structures, which, like the two-story main house, are clad in slate from Mayen-based Rathscheck. These paper-thin 1.5 cm slates are suspended invisibly against an aluminum framework. The façade's grey palette extends through the window frames, wall reveals, and dormer windows—all rendered in matching aluminum. The random-laid slate pattern breaks up visual monotony, creating a dynamic, living quality that reflects the complex's varied heights and varied projections. This same vitality flows through the terraced garden, where Corten steel-edged steps and platforms, along with an adjoining pool, define a series of outdoor living spaces. Bathed in afternoon and evening sun, the garden becomes an extension of the home. Inside, the ground floor opens as a luminous living zone, flooded by floor-to-ceiling glazing and enhanced by a skylight strip along the otherwise closed east facade. Upstairs, the children's and guest rooms also embrace the sprawling garden views. The parents' private attic floor offers a roof terrace that amplifies the vista across Bad Vilbel toward the Taunus beyond. In the end, location always wins.

www.rathscheck.de
www.andreas-schuchardt.de

Photography:
Gerard Halama for Rathscheck Slate

(Published in CUBE Frankfurt 03|20)