Dezeen Magazine

House S

House S by Christ Christ

German architects Christ Christ have added box-like rooms and an outdoor cinema to the roof of a house in Wiesbaden.

House S

Named House S, the former bungalow now has three storeys, with a cantilevered roof separating the first floor from the new upper level.

House S

Existing partitions are removed from the first floor to accommodate a large open-plan living room and kitchen, while the master bedroom is relocated to the new second floor.

House S

A glass corridor connects this bedroom to the other two boxes, which contain an extra living room and a home office.

House S

The cinema terrace is located on one of three separate roof gardens and overlooks a private courtyard on the storey below.

House S

A separate apartment is located on the ground floor.

House S

Other popular German residences we've featured include a woodland retreat with a chunky timber shell and a house covered in rubber - see more projects from Germany here.

House S

Photography is by Thomas Herrmann.

House S

Here's some more text from Christ Christ:


House S – extension and conversion

This specific construction assignment is a central topic of today's urban development: the roof area as building site which can be covered with independent buildings – urban compression by utilization of roof areas as valuable building land.

House S

Thereby the architect is always confronted with the question of how to handle with the existing building in a contemporary sense. In the case of House S a 60´s bungalow, built by interior architect Wilfried Hilger for himself and his family.

House S

Due to space limitations the new owners, a family of four, decided to heightening the existing bungalow and furthermore to renovate the basic structure.

House S

To keep the bungalow’s typical character three single boxes were placed on a cantilevered flat roof, which are connected only by a glass corridor.

House S

The new structure creates zones with different qualities: in the south-west a meadow with a small apple tree, in the north a stone paved courtyard with a pine tree and in the east a roof terrace with a magnolia.

House S

In one of the new boxes the master bedroom, dressing room and bath room is located. The two other boxes function as personal living room and home office for the landlords.

House S

In the first floor nearly all walls and installations were removed, so that a large living room could be created. An open kitchen was placed in the midst of that living area.

House S

This floor additionally includes the children’s rooms with dressing room and bath room.

House S

In the ground floor a guest room and an additional apartment is located.

House S

By the usage of triple glazed windows and highly effective insulation an energetically optimized building could be realized.

House S

Project description House S | Wiesbaden
Client: Private
Design: Roger Christ
Assistants: Ronni Neuber, Julia Url
Structural Engineering: Schmitt + Thielmann und Partner | Wiesbaden
Photographer: Thomas Herrmann | Stuttgart

House S

Materials and surfaces
Walls: facing concrete, oak rough cut, white lacquered wood, profilit glass, dry construction white painted
Ceilings: suspended plsterboard ceiling, white
Floorings: oak parquet (oiled finish), sisal wall to wall carpet
Terrace floor: timber floor
Kitchen: Bulthaup white
Face of the building: superfine plaster, glass, profilit glass, oak rough cut
Sun protection: textile screen white
Building data
Size of the plot: 873 m²
Living space: 452 m²
Start of construction: 06/2010
Completion: 07/2011