This house in the Bavarian countryside by local office SoHo Architektur has a kinked facade that provides different views from the living spaces and a pitched roof that references vernacular farm buildings (+ slideshow).
SoHo Architektur designed the family home for a sloping site on the edge of the small village of Landsberg and arranged the rooms so the living spaces have the best views, while a basement buried into the hill houses the entrance and a study.
"The main idea with this house was to manage the site to make the most of the views," architect Alexander Nägele told Dezeen. "We organised the levels so from the living room you can see the Bavarian Alps in the south and the Lech river in the north."
The building's irregular facade features folds in the front and back, with windows looking out at difference aspects of the surrounding countryside.
When viewed from the access road at the end of the driveway the house appears to have a simple section with a pitched roof, which is intended to resemble typical local barns.
"We didn't make many design decisions with this facade," explained Nägele. "There are a lot of farm houses here that have the same facade and we just altered the size."
The exterior is clad in vertical wooden planks that have been painted black to match the colour of the vernacular buildings nearby.
By burying the basement floor in the side of the hill, the architects were able to make the most of the building's footprint while complying with local height regulations.
A pathway leads past the garage at basement level to a sheltered courtyard and the house's main entrance.
A short staircase ascends from the courtyard to the garden which surrounds the building and can also be accessed from the ground floor at the rear of the property.
Concrete walls at the basement level continue up the stairs that lead to the large open plan kitchen, dining and living space, which features a fireplace built into an angular concrete wall.
The first floor contains the bedrooms and features warmer materials, including wooden boards lining the staircase and covering the floors.
Photography is by Zooey Braun.
The architects sent us this brief project description:
s_DenK
Being located at the hillside in a small Bavarian village the lot opens to the Alps in the South and the valley of the river Lech. By placing garage and house on different height levels it was possible to keep the original composition with a huge garden nearly untouched.
The access path bridges the height levels alongside the garage and opens up to a sheltered courtyard with gravel flooring. Entrances to house and office are located on this base level.
Some steps form a short cut to the garden. The next level houses the living area with huge South facing windows, featuring the view to the village and further on to the Alps, and an even opening to the garden in the North.
Narrow wooden stairs lead to the private rooms under the roof. The typical coloured and textured facade is a harmonious reference to the local context of the building.
