Steimle Architekten completes "crystal-like" concrete house in Germany
Angular, board-marked concrete walls offer a variety of views from the pared-back spaces inside this house designed by Steimle Architekten in Tübingen, Germany.
Stuttgart-based Steimle Architekten designed the three-storey family house across a split-level site in Pliezhausen – a village 30 kilometres south of Stuttgart – as a contrast to its neighbours.
Described as "crystal-shaped", the E20 residence features facades angled to offer residents a range of vistas across the neighbourhood.
The gabled roof folds down in different directions to offer varying profiles for the building, with two of the walls sloping up towards one corner occupied by the chimney.
"A conventional gable roof and the gently rising terrain reinforce the angular, sculptural effect of the house, which is designed on a hexagonal ground plan," said the architects who have completed another house with angular concrete facades in Tübingen.
"It is this oblique arrangement of the facades that enables the building to open out to the surrounding outdoor spaces and to offer its inhabitants unexpectedly expansive views in the distance," they continued.
The exterior of the house is covered with concrete textured by its formwork of rough-sawn wooden boards. The windows are indented to reveal the 50-centimetre-thick concrete walls.
Inside of the residence, the exposed concrete surfaces are smooth – a contrast to the rough texture of the exterior – and complemented by white-painted walls and warm hues of solid oak furnishings.
The house is accessed on the lower level where an entrance hall is lit by an angular window. A staircase leads from here up to the first floor, which features high, angled ceilings.
On this level, a long corner window wraps the lounge and the walls taper towards the fireplace on the shortest side.
This room opens to the kitchen, where a window is built into the wooden cabinets that run along one wall. The island in the centre of the space features sheered sides, mimicking the angular form of the house.
The dining room located next to the kitchen is furnished with a light wooden table and white dining chairs.
The master bedroom, which is also on this level, features a set of sliding glass doors that open to a decked patio.
A pair of children's bedrooms are set on the opposite side of this floor. Each features a study room with a staircase with splayed treads that lead to the bedrooms.
Photography is by Brigida González.