Unified Vision

Minimalist home: concrete, steel, and glass

A house sculpted from exposed concrete – that was the vision the clients brought to architect Stephanie Seidl of Studio 2S Architekten. For their new home on the city's edge, they were unwilling to compromise. The architect delivered precisely what they imagined: a clear, purist residence taking the form of an elegant concrete cube, restrained to a few carefully chosen materials and refined with meticulous attention to detail. The exterior walls comprise 40 cm thick exposed concrete prefabricated elements. Expansive facades are punctuated by full-height corner windows that frame expansive views of the surrounding landscape from every room.

The ground floor impresses with its open layout, conveying both spaciousness and generosity. A sculptural cantilevered staircase with timber treads and glass balustrade anchors the center, ascending to the first floor. The kitchen, oriented south toward the garden, showcases burnished steel in a vintage aesthetic. The deep black fireplace surround receives the same refined treatment. The open-plan living and dining zone features sliding glass doors, allowing the interior to dissolve into the garden during summer months, where mature trees provide natural shade. Acoustic elements integrated into the prefabricated ceiling of the wing—visible from the entrance—eliminate the need for sound-absorbing textiles or carpeting. An innovative radiant ceiling heating system maintains a consistently comfortable indoor climate through subtle thermal radiation.

Alongside the dark steel, concrete grey, and dark-lacquered window frames, a fourth chromatic note emerges from the light oak flooring with its rich grain pattern. A contrast that proves utterly compelling. Natural light reaches the staircase through a skylight and floor-level windows. Bedrooms and children's rooms equally benefit from daylight via the corner fenestration. Bathroom tiles in dark grey echo the concrete palette and coordinate with white Corian basins. This material vocabulary carries through to the basement, informing both the hobby and guest quarters and sauna suite. As the architect observes: without the clients' bold commitment to minimalism, such a unified spatial sculpture would have been impossible to achieve.

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