From a distance, this new building looks like a smoothly polished boulder - it is nestled on a slope in the soft hilly landscape of the Bavarian Forest and was erected under difficult building conditions. The building was designed by Studio Tobias Hofmann from Passau. A couple with children hired him to build a detached house. The special feature: They also wanted their own gym for everyday use. The hillside plot slopes down to the south. From this location, there is an impressive distant and close-up view: in the foreground, idyllic ponds, a wooded ridge and a small pilgrimage chapel in the valley - behind it, a seemingly endless panorama of the "Waldbuckelwelten".

The architect arranged the two volumes in such a way that together they form a small inner courtyard and the gymnasium and residential building are connected via different visual axes. The two parts of the house, which are oriented downhill, are also connected via the transverse attic to the north and the suspended terrace to the south, creating a monolithic form. The roof pitches trace the slope in a serpentine fashion, reflecting the typical landscape of the Bavarian Forest with its opposing lines of hill crests. The slightly offset garage shields the house from the street and presses against the slope. This creates a small sheltered courtyard for the children to skate and play in. The driveway and access to the house are also via this courtyard. Inside, the gymnasium and residential building are connected via the central entrance area. Reduced to the bare essentials, the open-plan living area opens up generously to the expansive landscape. The windows in the cooking and dining area allow targeted views of the gym and the small pilgrimage chapel. Almost all other rooms are located on the garden floor and face the terrace covered by the gymnasium. On the top floor, there are just two small offices and a roof terrace where you can enjoy the evening sun for long periods in the summer months. The floor plan structure is characterized by classic modern and traditional influences. Traditional elements such as the "house" (flez) and parlor meet modern elements such as open-plan living and light-flooded rooms. The hybrid construction of concrete and wood is also reminiscent of the typical building tradition of the region. Even the charred larch wood façade, which has its origins in Japan, creates references to the regional building tradition. The principle of blackening wooden surfaces to protect the wood was also known in the Bavarian Forest for a long time. It has only recently been slowly replaced by the use of industrial tar.

www.studio-hofmann.de

Photos:

Manuel Kreuzer
www.studio095.de

(Published in CUBE Munich 01|23)