on Wednesday 26 January 2011

The hard shell opens up towards the valley and the south side, and the extensive glazing reveals the scenery and mountain panorama. The terrace faces the pond and small integrated stream, which blend in with their natural surroundings, lends the courtyard a sense of an open air living room and connects the entrance floor to the grounds via a ramp. The structure with its notches and recesses sits on the hill like a meteor that has just landed. The adjacent litter meadow embraces the natural bathing pond and brings the cultivated green zone right up to the house. An unpretentious bathhouse built on the foundation of a small barn is an additional atmospheric and useful link to the surrounding agricultural land.

The character of the Germann House designed by Austrian marte.marte Architekten is bright, inviting and homey. The house is a stunning combination of smooth exposed concrete and warm tactile and optical softness of the light pine wood. The construction is made entirely from concrete that makes the house seems cold and unpleasant from the outside, but that is just a false assumption. The house from the inside is anything but cold. Floors, walls and built-in furniture are all made out of my favorite - pine wood. Windows and doors are from white aluminium which merges excellent with pine wood. And even though I am sad because of the all cut off trees, I must admit they found heaven inside of this warm home heated by black fireplace in the middle of open space living area. The interior feels so soft and relaxed I bet you can smell pine forest inside. :) I simply love it!




Photographer: Bruno Helbling

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