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House in the Forest
Site: Mueritz, Germany
Project Status: Project
Main Use: Summer House
Size: 250 m²
Structural System: Timber

“House in the Forest” is a summer house in a sparse forest close to lake Mueritz in the northeast of Germany. To enable a life outside in the beautiful natural environment of the tall trees, the house is designed as openly as possible. The house offers a variety of spatial situations rather than classical rooms. The physical boundaries between the inside and outside, house and landscape intertwine, the forest becomes part of the house, the house becomes part of the forest.

Constructed from a simple system of interlocking vertical and horizontal slabs, a spatial structure is erected over the uneven forest floor, creating various terrace-like situations beneath the trees. The slabs are arranged in a way as to frame different views and to stimulate the experience of nature in the immediate surroundings: to come closer to the trees, to enjoy the reflections on the pond, to listen to the murmur of the little stream nearby. Different heights of the slabs lead to changes in perspective and create fluid spaces of various proportions underneath. Open rooms and areas overlap and extend into the forest.

The interior functions are reduced to a minimum. They are located in places where at least two horizontal slabs overlap. Kitchen, bed- and bathroom can be completely opened by folding glass walls, so that even here outside life can be enjoyed. The overlapping and interlocking slabs create an open platform enabling the extension of activities beyond the house itself. Functions and ways to use it are not preset, therefore an ever new approach of using it is encouraged. The boundaries between house and garden intertwine, both physically and also by the multiple possibilities of use, thus unifying the features of a garden and a house within one spatial construction.