Haus B. – Mediating family villa in timber construction. by Althaus Architekten

Above Battenberg, in the hilly landscape of northern Hesse, a timber house for a young family follows the slope, integrating elegantly into the topography. The design cuts into the terrain, forming a long, concrete retaining wall, which, with the floor slabs, creates the base for the timber structure above. It brings daylight into the internal corridor and links interior, exterior, and landscape, while shaping the access road to the east and a level lawn to the west.

On the ground floor, the entrance and children’s rooms face north, toward the valley. A wooden staircase along the hillside connects the two floors and is lit by a skylight. The upper floor mediates between the open valley to the north and the sunny pasture slope to the south, with panoramic windows. Large windows in the west and east are framing the landscape: the living room frames the wildflower meadow to the west, while the bedroom opens to a wide, panoramic view of northern Hesse’s rolling hills. Energy efficiency class A+.