This home in the scenic woods is one with nature!

By Rutvi Ashar

Photography: Reimund Braun & Thomas Mayer; courtesy the architect

Read Time: 2 mins

.

90 sq. m. House Rheder II in Germany stands for essential living in a natural setting. Crisp, minimal furniture meets contemporary architecture paving the way for intelligent use of space!

We get busier with each passing day and what better place to unwind than at home?

.

.

Working with a client, who wanted to pare down to the absolute fundamentals, designer Heike Falkenberg redesigns House Rheder II, originally a holiday home from the 1950s; and rebuilt in 2015 focussed on the sensual perceptibility of the various lighting moods and the experience of air, fire, water and earth.

.

Allowing the surrounding East-Westphalian landscape to shine, this abode is more of a retreat than a home.  A room-high sliding partition divides the space into a living room, an intimate bedroom hidden behind it with a bathroom and a technical room that hosts the complete house technology, which is networked via a bus system and controlled by an app. All rooms are lit by individual skylights.

.

Adding to that, the glass box structure actually sits over softly rushing waters of a stream that connects the users to nature through the sense of hearing and seeing. The architecture of House Rheder reflects man's rediscovered desire for living amidst nature with a sense of simplicity and clarity.

.

The structure boasts of 3 m high sliding glass walls on two sides that open up the interiors via the wooden cantilevered deck to a magnificent view of the Rheder country park on one side, while the other brings in a reflection pool that projects a natural play of light onto the interior ceiling, reflecting the sky and clouds.

.

Whether it is the statement fireplace or the ceiling suspended recliner that emulates the gentle movements of the river, this home is not “big and important, but small and correct!" which is exactly what this project entails in a nutshell.