House V - Jakob Bader

House V is a large house on a small plot of land and an even smaller budget. On the outside it is very red and on the inside very raw. The house is well insulated and includes a geothermal pump and air-handling system minimising operation and maintenance costs. House V is not specifically an “Environmental” house but rather just simple and smart.

Arrival at House V is from the South. Cars are not hidden away in a garage but displayed under the house’s wide upper story cantilever which provides ample protection from the elements. This cantilever houses a large study and underneath it the main entry to the house and also a separate entry which is a shortcut to the loft space.

The 16m long house stretches out to the North. The living spaces are to the north enclosed on three sides by glass and outside by the garden. Here the planning of the house becomes obvious. The open living room, kitchen and dining spaces are arranged like a Basilica with the kitchen at the centre, the high alter of our time. The main bedroom and hidden terrace directly above the living room in the loft, are reminiscent of a winter-garden: from the bed one can observe the starry night sky, snow flakes or aeroplanes.

To the north, there is a seemingly endless view to wilderness through a magnificent apple tree and clump of Firs. The land here is attractive for it borders on a reserve that is protected by the state from future building because of infrastructure running through it. English Aristocrats of the 19th century also built their country retreats turned to the North, to accentuate the view into the garden that is bathed in southern light. In Germany it is very uncommon and strange.

House V´s outer T-form is mirrored on the inside: the central services zone is bordered on two sides by the larger living rooms. The central zone includes stairs, two bathrooms and two dressing rooms, a library and an internal chute linking the upper story to the cellar. In the cellar there is plenty of storage space and the all-important control room, the holy crypt of the contemporary house where the technological controls for the house are located. The adjustment for these controls is by touchscreen, internet and iPhone for making changes when out and about.

Building House V was a specific challenge in itself. The strict council rules couldn´t be compromised: e.g. the great upper story is officially called just a pitched roof space. The setbacks from the boundary were also dealt with very artfully.

House V is modern but not perfectionist. It is outwardly sculptural and symbolic and inside raw and even abrasive; unlike many other contemporary houses which are smooth, sexy and dead boring. House V is human. The casual details are not spectacular but the concept: as a whole it is a harmony of volume, layout, facades, structure, technical configuration and inner organisation.

Architects: Jakob Bader
Location: Ringstrasse 5a, 85774 Unterföhring, Alemania
Year: 2008
Photos: Kai Arndt

Villa Nyberg - Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture

Kjellgren Kaminsky has produced Swedens first series of passive houses sold as type houses in collaboration with Emrahus, our goal is to make this environmentally friendly building technique available for all. Villa Nyberg is the first one to get built. The villa has been customized for the Nyberg family and is situated in Borlänge, central Sweden.

 

Passive houses are extremely well-insulated buildings that are largely heated by the energy already present in the building – people and our household equipment generate a lot of energy. Our energy simulations show that this villa will have an energy consumption for heating of only 25 kWh/m²year.

 

To reduce heatloss airtightness is n important feature of a passivehouse. When we tested the airtightness of Villa Nyberg in a blowdoortest we got apleasent suprise, a new Swedish record! The result was 0,038 l/sm² at 50 Pa. The Swedish passive house standard is 0,3 and the previous record was 0,07.

The villa is situated by a lake in a fur forest in central Sweden. The living room and kitchen open up towards the views of the lake, the more private areas such as the bedrooms and bathrooms are situated on the other side of the house with smaller windows overlooking the forest.

The round shape of the villa eliminates coldbridges and reduces the enclosing wallarea of the house. It also effects the way you live in the house, during the day one will move from room to room around the building experiencing different views and daylight conditions.

The autumn is closing in, but its still warm in the sun. Its Sunday morning and I’m reading the newspaper in the kitchen. From here I can see almost the whole house. The kitchen and the living room form one big open room. From there two corridors running along the atrium connects it with the bedrooms. If I look into the atrium I can see the doors to the bedrooms on the other side, there our kids are still fast asleep, they stayed up a bit too long yesterday watching movies.

Architects: Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture
Location: Borlänge, Sweden
Team: Joakim Kaminsky, Fredrik Kjellgren, Oscar Arnklitt, Daniel Andersson, Corina Bermúdez
Client: Emrahus & the Nyberg family
Project Area: 156 sqm
Photos: Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture