Haus W 
Frankfurt am Main

The well crafted cuboid generates spectacular light. The development, constructed out of prefabricated high insulation timber panels and energy-efficient glazing, is articulated as a classic modernist intervention: a box set into a traditional pitched roof atop a standard three-storey house. The luminosity within is ethereal, the washroom and stairwell exploiting their south facing aspect through extensive glazing. This creates a dramatic interplay of light and shadow. By contrast, the project’s large north facing window disseminates even source of illumination throughout the day. Two vertical louvre panels provide natural ventilation.

The scheme is accessed from the building’s second level. The assured materiality of the floor and staircase, both in oak, sets the scene. Light from above heightens the ambience. The structural clarity of the glass balustrading on the upper level complements the precision and finishing of the roof glazing. Within the main space the ascetic elegance of the white monochrome tiling is juxtaposed against the colour, depth and texture of the oak flooring, the bespoke transparent screen delivering a seamless interface between the two. Detailing is exacting throughout.

Kantine
Herkules Maschinenfabrik
Meuselwitz

The use of light as a building element defining space and animating form is central to this design project. Three bespoke light wells articulate the scheme. What was once a dreary, non-descript room is now a visually engaging facility used not only as a canteen, but also as a gallery for design and award presentations.

The golden section ratio was utilised to determine the size of the skylights. Engineered to an exacting standard, their conical configuration generates an arresting source of natural light, whilst their prefabrication minimized the installation time: just one working day for the old roof to be demolished and replaced with the new structure, incorporating not only the lightwells but also a concealed air conditioning unit. Fresh air enters the space via an elegant, linear channel inscribed into the ceiling; warm, stale air is extracted via a series of small circular vents arranged around the top edge of each lightwell.

The lighting theme continues in the entrance hall. A well proportioned, stainless steel plane sits authoritatively within the glazed entranceway. During daylight hours, the reflectivity of the material animates the ambient daylight conditions. At night, its underside is bathed in the company’s corporate blue, courtesy of the LED lighting recessed into the floor plinth.

Villa W
Frankfurt am Main

This white, monolithic house will reside in a suburb of Frankfurt. The site is elevated. From the street it will appear impenetrable, its windowless façade and recessed entranceway delineating a clear demarcation between the public and private realms. Surrounding properties are a mixture of two and three storey pitch roof housing. All have been carefully referenced in determining the project’s scale, mass and proportions. A series of setbacks on floors one and two allude to the timeless ziggurat form. And as way of a vertical counterpoint to the building’s strong horizontal accent, the traditional chimney is represented as an elegant planar column.

Villa W is about generating presence, its robust orthogonality and monochrome aesthetic grounding the building in its location. At just under 0.5m thick the external walls will be Romanesque in stature. This is architecture communicating through its constructional ontology the importance of place and dwelling.

The build will utilise a restrained palette of materials: for the externals walls, one course of high insulation clay blocks; for the internal walls, cast in-situ concrete - this being used also for the floors and ceilings, the villa’s roof, and for a monumental inverted U frame that will structurally organise the building’s south facing design. The house will be finished in a mineral based render so preserving the breathability of the walls. As there is no specific insulation layer used in the construction, the external walls will be specified at 450mm thick in order to achieve the desired U-values.

Villa W will provide 640 sq metres of living space over four levels. The rectangular floor arrangement is Palladian in spirit, abstracted in varying degrees for each of the floors. Ceiling heights are generous, from the lower ground level to the second floor: 2.4m, 2.8m, 2.6m and 2.4m respectively. These dimensions will deliver a series of well-proportioned rooms. On the ground floor the living and dinning area will impress with its volumetric clarity, the building’s inverted U frame design generating a 10m column free span that will provide uninterrupted views of the garden. The same floor type, coquina stone slabs, for the inside outside spaces will deliver coherence to the whole.

From a tectonic standpoint the volumetric design is made even more challenging by the insertion of a double height space (3.4m x 6m x 6m). This will seamlessly connect the ground floor and first floor, as well as disseminate the weight and structure of the architecture, and, just as importantly, facilitate the flow of natural light throughout the social areas, these all being orientated towards the villa’s huge expanse of glazing on its south facing elevation. The ground floor and first floor will each be fitted with three large triple pane, bespoke units: 3.5m x 2.8m, 3m x 2.8m and 3.5m x 2.8m; and for the second floor, two units measuring 3.5 x 2.2 and 3.8 x 2.4. In addition, the building’s structural rigour will enable extensive glazing to the villa’s side (west) elevation on the ground level.


















The scheme’s second floor, L shaped composition with full height glazing on three sides will deliver impressive views of the Tanus mountain range. A dramatic skylight situated above the staircase leading to the top level will provide a generous source of diffused north light. This soft, even illumination will create a sense of expectation as one ascends, which, on cloudless days, will be heightened by diagonal rays of sunlight from the pavilion’s south west glazing. The use of light as a building element defining space and animating form is central to the project, meticulously informing every glazed insertion, including an additional north facing skylight above the main entrance way. This will gently illuminate the hallway, thereby allowing the abundance of light from the south facing elevation to draw one through and into the hearth of the home.

Villa W,  Frankfurt am Main
High insulation clay blocks, cast in-situ concrete, glass and sandstone
Starts on site: September 2013
Modelmaker: Innovation Technologies GmbH,  Frankfurt am Main

Beton Balkon
Frankfurt am Main
























With the building's external fabric protected by an historic preservation order, it dates from the 1890s, an autonomous balcony design was required. Two prefabricated concrete structures provide the solution, their substantive forms delivering a dramatic counterbalance to the apartment block’s considerable massing. Whilst the robustness of each balcony is neatly counterpointed by the elegant composition of the stainless steel railings.



















Both units comprise four platforms. Orthogonal columns organize the build, the modular nature of the architecture being subtly disseminated by a 10mm shadow gap detail.

The clarity and autonomy of the main construction is paralleled in the railings' self-supporting configuration. A series of 50mm deep footings distribute the load, each footing being formed by a cylindrical container placed inside a precast countersunk steel bushing, then subsequently removed after casting, so generating the necessary void. The final element in this composition is a circular steel plate surround for each of the spindles; these slot into the bushings and sit flush with the surface of the concrete.




































Internally, the platforms are detailed with a 2% fall to allow for drainage. 3cm thick sandstone slabs, which sit on bespoke pedestals, provide the finishing surface: safe and durable, as well as being complementary to the building's use of sandstone in its door and window trims. Referencing this material was central in the development of the concrete’s colour, composition and texture. Specially formulated pigments were added to the bespoke aggregate and cement mix. The resultant concrete was then etched to reveal its granular density, this visceral materiality complementing not only the sandstone, but also the very solidity and rigour of the balcony design.

Concrete Balconies
Prefabricated concrete, steel and sandstone
Frankfurt am Main

12x12x12
Milled from a solid block of aluminium
2012

Beton Schwimmbad 

This outdoor swimming pool in Darmstadt is an exercise in tectonic eloquence, a seamless integration of making and thought.

The project’s aim was simple, but complex: to eliminate any trace of structural expression in order to maximise the visceral impact of the white cast in-situ concrete. This was realised through a bespoke steel frame that encased the shuttering during construction. The concrete is flawless; there is no evidence of shuttering joints or anchor points, just an unblemished smooth white surface, articulated within an orthogonal form, its phenomenology enriched by the ethereality of the water and light.

All measurements pertain to the golden section. Italian coquina stone slabs surround the pool, their matt finishing minimizing glare and reducing the risk of slipping; and for the external walls, an off white shade of plaster to compliment the warm tone of the stonework. The ambience generated is calm and welcoming; and from a practical standpoint, the inclusion of a fully retractable safety pool cover, accessed from a hidden slot, ensures peace of mind.

Detailing is meticulous throughout; a family room adjoins the swimming pool, the positioning of its windows aligning exactly with the grid template.The scheme’s subtle, integrated lighting animates the design, disseminating an aesthetic borne out of structural rigour, timeless geometric proportions and exacting materiality. The architecture has been distilled, reduced to an elemental state, enabling us to experience what is most real: its spatial tectonic singularity.

Beton Schwimmbad
White cast in-situ concrete, stone slabs and integrated lighting
Darmstadt

Villa S, near Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
White cast in-situ concrete, slate, steel & glass
Completion date: July 2013