Duplex brings two homes collectively as a single, uncooked, theatrical dwelling in Leipzig

‘Duplex’ appears one thing of a misnomer for this single-family home outdoors Leipzig – till you examine additional. Fusing two petite gable-roofed homes into one ample dwelling, the architects Atelier ST doubled down on the syncopated shift of the property’s unique footprint. Opening up the 2 volumes with a sequence of break up ranges, they created a dialog between lateral counterparts, introducing a simple circulation of house and goal. 

Duplex: a uncooked dwelling echoing its residents’ style

The venture represents a homecoming for the shoppers, who’d set out years earlier for careers within the metropolis. Returning to the northeastern suburb of Leipzig-Portitz, they introduced an appreciation for unconventional design and an actual fondness for the transformed faculty they’d been residing in. The arch motif that defines the home windows and doorways at Duplex nods to the barrel vault of the college’s former auditorium. The graphic curves and their picket inserts filter pure mild by the luxurious surrounds and into the meandering areas in ever-evolving patterns. 

Within the fingers of Silvia Schellenberg-Thaut and Sebastian Thaut, the couple behind Atelier ST, the brand new home places on an easy façade. The uncovered board-formed concrete construction, whereas breaking with the neighborhood commonplace, sits merely and comfortably inside the surrounding woodland. It takes up no more room than its neighbours. It doesn’t attempt to show itself. 

But it belies the advanced sequence of areas inside. Linked by these archways – or ‘portals’, within the architects’ parlance – the rooms are in a relentless state of flux. Starting within the open-plan kitchen and eating room, they swing between ranges with dynamic effectivity, every one a number of steps from the subsequent. 

The transitions are simple but definitive, providing new views and views. Even the shallow staircase main as much as the personal quarters, for much longer than the others, makes a mild development whereas taking part in with the elongated framework of the home.

Up right here, too, the rooms keep a detailed live performance with each other. Nonetheless, the master bedroom takes on a hallowed, secluded high quality, despite the fact that the youngsters’s rooms, workplace and visitor quarters are just some steps above, on the higher stage. The nursery focuses outward by the porthole window to a cluster of fruit timber. 

Concrete infiltrates each house, whether or not within the flooring, built-in furnishings or the 2 bracing partitions that run up by the core. And but Duplex by no means will get chilly.

Virtually, ST experimented with thermal ‘hemplime’ insulation plastered with pure clay, an energy-efficient answer that additionally helps cool the home in summer season. The pure palette and woody accents go a good distance towards the nice and cozy, hospitable feeling that very a lot blends in with the neighbourhood. 

atelier-st.de