The OLS house is a 488m2 3-storey family home designed by J. Mayer H. und Partner as a modern concrete home full of angles and voids that still incorporates a gabled roofline to blend with the surrounding more traditional 1960s homes. Located near Stuttgart, Germany on a hillside, the home is a reinforced concrete construction with a facade of a one heat insulating compound system and large expanses of aluminum and glass windows overlooking the valley beyond. The ground level of the home consists of the foyer, utility room and spa while the second storey is the social zone and the third storey is the private volume.
The main level of the home is a deep charcoal shade while the 2nd and 3rd storeys are white. A colour blocking of pale grey connects the two 3rd storey windows, creating a graphic detail that breaks up the large expanse of concrete, making the facade of the home feel smaller then it actually is.
The deep charcoal of the main level settles into the black of the driveway reducing the overall visual size of the home even more.
In the evening the interior lights flood through the large expanses of glazing, highlighting the entry door and the social zone.
The lay of the land rises to the back of the home where the gabled roofline appears to meet up with it.
Just inside the entrance, the foyer is a large open space that wraps around a central stairwell leading up to both the social and private zones. A wall of storage between the entry and stairs is barely noticeable next to the large sculptural statement of the balustrade.
The stairs continue to impress from the 2nd floor while they also act as a divider between the kitchen and living zones.
While the 2nd level is designed to be an open floor plan, the stairwell offers a certain amount of separation to the kitchen and dining area.
With a wall of full height cabinets and an oversized island, the kitchen has plenty of storage and prep space and with the other two exterior walls covered in full height glazings, both the kitchen and dining area can enjoy the panoramic views overlooking the valley beyond.
Even the view to the stairwell is stunning with its sculptural statement.
On the other side of the stairwell is the living room and as with the kitchen and dining zone, a recessed ceiling is wrapped in ambient lighting, creating a soft glow to each zone.
The view from the living room towards the kitchen is amazing.
The stairwell continues up to the sleeping areas which also includes the dressing rooms and bathrooms.
The view looking up the stairwell from the steps is surreal.
the stairwell is a masterpiece of light and shadow.
Even the bathroom incorporates a stunning display of light and shadow with its multiple ceiling recesses.
While the social zone has large expanses of glazings, the 3rd floor is far more private with its porthole style windows. These smaller windows are given greater presence with the use of the soft grey colour blocking on the façade.
the unusual shape to the colour blocking blends perfectly with the angles within the façade itself.
The backyard is level with the 2nd storey but is connected to the main floor via an outdoor mezzanine.
Slats and anti glare sheeting offer integrated sun protection to the home, protecting it from the summer’s heat and while the shell of the home is concrete, the interior walls are drywall and the floor is a seamless layer of screed. The roof was built with a preweathered zinc plate cladding, fitted with solar panels.
J. Mayer H. und Partner
Photography by David Franck
