Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be enveloped by a structure that seamlessly blends the indoors and outdoors? Welcome to Haus B. Right here in front of us stands a remarkable testament to modern architectural design.
Haus B isn’t just a house. It’s a carefully crafted experience. The architects used the typical image of a gabled roof house but made it contemporary. It’s a deceptively simple structure. At first glance it appears as one family home. Look closer. You’ll discover two distinct living units hidden under that cantilevered roof. A subtle wall divides them along the ridge line.
The entrance is unique. A raised wooden veranda wraps around. A round dormer punctuates the low-slung eaves highlighting the entrance door. The central entrance leads to a living or dining area. These rooms are strategically positioned in the building’s corners. You can also access the porch on the first floor via stairs located below the dormer. From there you enter the main room and a gallery.
The design is ingenious. The rooms’ relationships to the exterior space differ depending on their location. The ground floor living rooms reach out. Floor-to-ceiling windows create a horizontal sense of openness. The rooms aren’t rigidly defined. Instead round supports subtly mark their boundaries. On the eaves side the space extends to the veranda. Summer opens the space completely. Three steps take you to the garden.
The rooms under the roof are different. They are more vertical. The bedrooms’ spaciousness opens upwards. Imagine lying in bed. You’d look up to the sky through the high windows. The parapet prevents the view from below. The writing space under the round dormer offers a distant view only when seated. When standing you only see the entrance.
The gallery at the house’s highest point only has a skylight. The higher you go the more private and introspective the rooms become. Each room eventually only connects to itself.
The structure above the concrete floor is entirely wooden. European softwood makes up the frame walls and supports. A solid wooden ceiling spans the building. The roof’s load is transferred to the foundation through purlins. This design maximized the room’s orientation by removing interior columns. Because of the thatched roof the windows are positioned in front of the building structure.
The interior walls are wooden stud walls. Spruce wood panels clad the ground floor. Gypsum fiberboards are on the upper floor. The roof is a ventilated thatched construction. It acts as a rain barrier and climate envelope. Haus B is more than a house. It’s a journey of architectural brilliance and careful spatial design.