“In times of redensification, architects and construction companies are increasingly looking to the roof as a construction site – and often succumb to the temptation to maximise the use of space. The price: the process of adding another floor completely changes the existing building and it is left disfigured beyond recognition. A new building shell, which is designed to improve the energy balance, does the rest. This is not the case with ‘House S’. Following the refurbishment, extension and addition of an extra floor, the bungalow looks new and yet familiar. The three cubes extend the living space without reducing the impact of the wide, projecting flat roof, which is central to the identity of the building. The glass corridors, which connect the three new buildings, create niches and open spaces. The roof landscape, which was previously flat, has been given an additional dimension by the new design, and with it, more charm. The jury sees ‘House S’ as a successful development of an architectural concept. The building has retained its character after the building works and, just as was the case when it was first built in the 1960s, represents an exclusive villa full of sophisticated nonchalance.” – extract from the explanatory statement by the prize jury

Awarded by: The State of Hesse and the Hesse Chamber of Architects and Urban Planners | Germany

Website AKH

House S