The architects in this project wanted to build a brick house by creating aold barn as a baseuse. It is a second life for the sustainable building material. The outskirts of this design follow a combination of lush forests, farm fields with agricultural buildings and fast-growing single-family homes. For this reason, the team built the house they designed in a place where these three zones meet.
Build a functional and modern brick house
Old, historic barns are still characteristic elements of the surrounding landscape. These are simple brick buildings with balanced proportions and precise details that have aged very well. Today these barns are often abandoned and half destroyed. However, despite their years, they still differ significantly from the new buildings. During the design process, the idea arose not only to be inspired by a dominant surrounding architecture, but also to use it directly.
The plan was primarily for residents to purchase an old abandoned barn and dismantle it. They found these in the nearby village. In addition, the architects wanted to build a new brick house on this property using the old building material. So this concept then developed into a key idea that significantly changed the approach in an area of architecture and sustainability.
Minimalist design in the middle of nature
The close proximity of the forest is the big advantage of the narrow plot on which the house is located. When you enter the house you are already fascinated by a beautiful view of the surrounding greenery. The ground floor also forms a common room with a kitchen, dining room and living room. All rooms have large, long window fronts with a view of the forest and the terrace with the same length as the window.
This impression is reinforced by the high rooms of the kitchen and living room of 5 meters. In this high open space on the first floor, the designers inserted a module. It contains a bathroom, closets and bedrooms with a wonderful view of the forest. This floating unit creates a suspension over the ground floor. This also protects the terrace from rain and provides it with enough shade.
It may seem unusual to place the garage in the middle of the house. However, this connects this directly to the entrance hall, the laundry room, the boiler room and the storage room. There is also a children's room and an additional attic above the garage. The architects also designed a new air-permeable facadeBrick wallcreated using the old barn. The historical material gives the place a unique atmosphere.
The facade consists of four types of connections between the bricks with different shapes and transparency. These details of the external facade also highlight the individual zones of the house. Open brick walls allow the view to be seen and connect with the surroundings. This arrangement of the facade was a major challenge for masons working on the site. They therefore had to transfer their technology to the old building trade.
The simple form of the house does not compete with the sculptural facade. This forms more of a background that at the same time emphasizes its beauty. Recycled brick material from an abandoned building gave the new building a second life and created additional architectural values for the newly built house.
