House Schwab

House Schwab | Kottgeisering, Germany | 2020
[Architekturbüro Huber]

The narrow, very long, hillside property with old trees is located in a north-south orientation between two listed villas from the early 20th century.

In order to take account of the tree population and to be able to experience the distant view of Andechs Abbey over Lake Ammersee, the building’s cubature, like the neighbouring buildings, rises up like a tower. To increase this feeling of height, three full floors with a living room on the top floor were planned. A large window offers a stunning view through the treetops over the Ammersee with Andechs Monastery and the Alps behind. The kitchen as the centre of the family’s daily is connected to the garden on the ground floor.

During the planning phase, the use of natural, solid and untreated materials was crucial. The interplay of raw brass, untreated oak and plastered surfaces can be found in many details. Ceiling lamps and furnishing have specifically been designed to fit the architecture.

When designing the outer shell of the building, the base plaster of the two adjacent monuments was taken up and transferred to the entire facade. For this purpose, a custom plaster sample has been created. It was then presented to and approved by the local preservation authorities. A church plasterer applied the plaster with a trowel in a traditional manner by hand, side by side.

Following the intention to create a simple, ecological and sustainable architecture, the building was realized as a conventional brick construction (without insulation). The energy standard chosen was “passive house“, without an automated ventilation system to avoid the use of unnecessary, expansive and complex housing technology. Due to the deep window reveals no additional, external sun shades are required. The footprint of the building is based on a compact, hexagonal shape, which is derived from the required clearance area.

The design is a joint effort between the client, Andreas Schwab (and his beautiful wife who always agreed), who studied architecture himself and works as a self-employed product designer, and the architect Felix Huber. Text description by the architects.