Residential and Office Complex

By Editorial Staff - 8 January 2010

The housing complex is located on a greenfield site of approximately 6,000 sqm outside Burgrieden, not far from Ulm, Germany. The aim was to combine the functions of home and workplace, while also housing a showroom for the owner’s collection of vintage sport cars.
The sculptured geometrical volumes of this landmark complex required special planning permission for a rural site usually punctuated by farmhouse clusters.
The slight northward slope of the land was exploited to create two sections on different levels: a public section, level with the road, containing offices and showroom, and a secluded residential section set back on higher ground. The whole complex rests on a 40x27 m fair-face concrete foundation. On the lower level, the parallelepiped is extended by a floor to house a fully glazed, two-storey showroom for Lars Weidt’s vintage cars as well as storerooms and technical plant. Still on the north side, a flight of concrete stairs rising from the concrete base separates the showroom from the office block: a “glass parallelepiped” whose floor-to-ceiling glazing alternates two-colour matte and clear glass panels.
The private section stands back on the higher ground. A paved court separates the two private blocks from each other and from the rear of the office block. The plastered concrete façades of the two compact geometrical volumes are relieved by narrow window strips or full-height glazing for the south-facing living room overlooking the surrounding countryside. Amenities include an essential outdoor swimming pool bordered by wood-slat flooring, and with a pavilion-shaped concrete shower area.
The architecture underlines the search for formal quality in the complex relations between volumes, interior and exterior spaces, light and shadow, and in the blend of natural and manmade environments. The restrained use of just a few materials: fair-face concrete, light-coloured plaster, dark anodised aluminium and glass – provides simple...