D HOUSE

Description

Giant sandstone boulders and a green roof screen this ‘Passivhaus’, from street views, anchoring it into the verdant landscape of the river Mamer valley. The cantilevered roof over the carport signals the entrance to the house, which leads to a large living space, flooded with light from the frameless picture windows. The entrance space contains the staircase, held aloft by giant columns, big and tall as mature tree trunks. In-between these columns are wedged small niches: a theatre of memory, curated by the family members, linking vertical space with horizontal time. A new design development for us are the ‘window beds’: bringing great views and natural light to the beds, which are ajustable and so double as recliners. On the roof is an innovative cooling method, which reduces summer heat loads by using harvested rainwater to irrigate the sedum. One important design goal was to eliminate the risk of echoes in the open plan living room, which is full of hard reflective surfaces, by using specially designed timber panels, which also double up as a built in lighting system. Wherever possible materials are left in their raw natural condition.