Reference buildings – residential
Single-family home Dorfen, D 2010 Client: Family Gührs, Dorfen Architect: Architekturwerkstatt Vallentin, Dorfen Building services: Ingenieurbüro Güttinger, Kempten
5.1
Opinions on the building of single family homes differ fundamentally. Some simply refuse to plan and construct them because they are neither ecological nor sustainable due to their high demand for space and mobility; others try to meet the majority‘s desire for an individual habitat with greater independence from neighbours and other disturbances for more or less pragmatic reasons and, in the best case, to enrich it with new features and qualities. The fact is, however, that the development of residential buildings, except possibly in large cities, is drifting away from multi-sto-
rey buildings, despite the criticism voiced by architects, town and regional planners against urban sprawl. The project presented here is in numerous ways trend-setting since it was undertaken with the objective of building a free-standing, compact Passive House that would be very economic in terms of investment, resources and energy. The house is located in a new development area of a small town within walking distance of the station. It is a clearly defined structure with a saddle roof, which is distinguished by the sloped angle of the ridge and the eaves. The
openings – one each per facade and storey – are individualised and provided with colour-contrasting, angled reveals. The same design methodology has been applied to the covered terrace. The skin features a mixture of larch cladding, red facade panels and corrugated aluminium sheet in the roof zone. Not until the relationship between the open-plan layout and the use of space has been fully grasped is it possible to appreciate the composition of volumes, openings and interior fit-out as an intelligent play of freely placed elements.
5.2
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