Designboom recently featured a residential project in Germany that looks to blend old and new. And they succeeded, in no small part to a smart infusion of – you guessed it – wood.
Henning Grahn Architektur (HGA) has completed an extension for a small family house with a gable roof in Mainz, Germany. Dubbed ‘Holzbox’, the structure takes shape as a wooden elevated box that attaches itself to the existing home in order to provide adequate space and a contemporary configuration for the occupants. Creating a visual play between past and present, the new building blends with the old roof and overlaps the existing façade, while large glass surfaces frame the view and provide optimal lighting for the new living environment.
The sustainable two-story construction of the box consists of wooden frames and solid wooden ceilings with an experimental facade made of specially treated MDF panels without visible fasteners. The replaced windows in the old house and the flush-mounted windows in the addition are made of larch wood, visually connecting old and new. After completion of the remodeling work, the residents enter the house via a massive staircase at the front. In the hidden backyard, they can relax on the new steps next to the stream under a walnut tree.
Below are a few exciting photos from the project. All images by David Schreyer.
project info:
name: Holzbox
architects: Henning Grahn Architektur (HGA) | @hga.archi
location: Mainz, Germany
area: 165 sqm
photography: David Schreyer | @schreyerdavid_bild
