Roman Morschett @roman.morschett . photos: © Rory Gardiner
The Bliesgau House is a single-storey family home located in a small village in rural Southwest Germany. The long, elegant timber structure is situated on an old orchard parallel to the street and separates the public space from the private area to the south. The foundation with its parallel concrete bulkheads reflects the logic of the timber construction inscribing it into the landscape. The house follows the movement of the topography, thus strengthening the relationship between the interior and the garden. All secondary rooms are lined up to the north, creating a buffer to the street. The rooms and communal areas are orientated to the south and offer a view over the old roofs of the village into the cultivated landscape. The rationally organized floor plan gains spatial diversity thanks to the pergola in front. Benches spanning between the pillars extend the interior to the outside. The study is the only room facing east and is distinguished by a large, round window. The spatial configuration of the communal area creates different levels of intimacy, which is further emphasized by the level difference between the kitchen and the living room. The living area flows around the large covered terrace, which becomes the communicative hub of family life. From here, it is only a few steps to the orchard, which links naturally with the house.
Although the plot is located in the middle of the village, it was previously undeveloped. Realizing this project was a chance to densify the center of the rural community instead of sprawling it out at the edges. At the same time we wanted to preserve the special atmosphere of the orchard. We looked for an appropriate expression to achieve this goal, and found it in a simply-joined timber construction. The materiality, construction and color scheme were to be reminiscent of functional agricultural buildings. Larch wood is the defining material of the house, as it can be found in the façade cladding, the terrace planks, pillars, benches, windows and the parquet flooring in the interior. The house was to be simple and yet rich in spatial situations.
The closed façade to the north contrasts with the generous glazing to the south, which leads to noticeable solar heat gains in the winter months when the sun is low in the sky. At the same time, the large roof overhang prevents excessive heating in summer. By omitting additional cladding layers, the exposed timber construction on the outside reinforces the design idea and also saves resources. Moreover, the house is heated by a heat pump whose electricity requirements are covered by the photovoltaic system in combination with a battery storage unit.
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Location 66453 Gersheim, Germany
Client Private
Gross Floor Area 210 m²
Completion 10/2022
Photographer Rory Gardiner
Architect Roman Morschett M.A.
