Haus M private house | Descry Design
Haus M private house by Gronych + Dollega Architekten

Haus M private house

Golden A' Design Award Winner 2017

Scanning this architectural photograph from background to foreground reveals a striking contemporary private residence photographed from a three-quarter exterior view on an overcast day with soft, even illumination. The background presents a pale gray-white sky occupying the upper quarter of the frame, with the silhouette of a tall vertical metal mast rising at the far left edge, its slender tubular form reaching upward like a ship's rigging. A mature coniferous tree with soft sage-green needles stands at the left background, providing natural counterpoint to the angular built forms. The dominant architectural element commands the middle ground: a dramatic cantilevered concrete structure projecting forward and rightward, its surface a warm cream color with the subtle texture of board-formed construction appearing smooth as polished stone. This triangular mass creates a sharp leading edge resembling a ship's prow, its underside sheltering space below. Above and behind this concrete form rises a cylindrical volume wrapped in corrugated metal cladding of cool charcoal gray, with horizontal ribbing creating a textured surface cool to the touch like brushed aluminum. Tubular steel supports and tension cables at left provide structural bracing, their metallic surfaces catching ambient light. Moving to the foreground, a curving pathway of pale cream aggregate winds sinuously from lower right, its smooth surface appearing like packed sand, warm underfoot. Flanking this pathway, beds of dark volcanic stone aggregate create textural contrast, rough and cool as river pebbles. Young deciduous trees with slender reddish-brown trunks rise from these beds, their leaves a fresh spring green, soft and delicate as new growth. At far left, a vertical panel of weathered corten steel displays rich burnt orange and sienna tones, its surface rough and warm like aged copper. The overall atmosphere conveys shelter, innovation, and harmonious dialogue between human construction and natural elements.

The shape of the building is meant to imitate an extract of a mine. The inside of the residence revolves around the living room, which measures 6 meters in height and is divided by a gallery layer. An open and tense spatial structure is being formed hereby. The frontal terrace plane operates like a stage set and creates more depth within the room.