thatched hip roof tops hubschmitz architekten’s house on föhr island, germany

hubschmitz architekten has completed a holiday house in föhr, an island on the german coast of the north sea, whose design balances between local architectural traditions and contemporary concepts. responding to the clients’ wish for a home that expressed their attachment to the region, the project is topped with a thatched hip roof, which takes its cues from those of typical frisian farmhouses. the residence, which is located directly on the coast, benefits from wide views of the sea thanks to the continuous, floor-to-ceiling openings that clad its south and east façades.all images by veit landwehr

‘the outside elevations of the house on föhr talk about the conceptual organisation inside,’ says architect joenne hub of hubschmitz architekten. ‘on the one hand by following geometrical axes and lines, on the other by giving every elevation a special arrangement of windows and enclosed elements, guiding the viewers eyes to the wide opened sea-orientated southern fronts.
’ the exterior design of the house is guided by the spatial organization inside, while it’s possible to tell where secondary rooms are located due to their small windows, as in stables or farmhands-rooms of old times.the northern approach to the house, offers less transparency and more privacy

the home’s two chimneys are integrated in monumental pylons that extend above the thatched roof. additionally, these pylons act as structural elements of the building, carrying masses of weight, while they also enclose the seaside glazed parts of the building, acting like a shelter for them. ‘the big pylons and the long dormers and their enveloping of the edges of the hipped roof, have never been built in historical frisian houses in this way,’ adds  joenne hub. ‘the influence of frisian houses, enriched by the architecture of early british thatched roof buildings and the owners wishes, led me to create a kind of “fusion” architecture.’the south façade, which faces the beach, includes the social areas of the housethe driveway approach to the house. the garage has space for six cars as well as a workshop the entrance porch/ cube in bronzed brass re-interprets the former frisian gables, which were traditionally there to protect people from falling burning reeds in case of fire

the double-height entrance lobby, with oak-clad staircase leading to the private quartersthe dining room has a dramatic double hight space, complete with a skylight and the fireplace, which is clad in handmade kolumba bricksall main elements in the house are bespoke using a limited materials palette the fireplace in the living room takes on a sculptural form, interlocking with the bespoke cabinetry view from dining room towards the paved terrace and beach basement floor plan ground level floor plantop level floor plan

project info:

name: house on a north sea island

architect: hubschmitz architekten

principal architect: joenne hub-strobl

team: silvia filippelli (interiors), michael frey, nicolai koretsky

construction management: gkkk architekten, deutsche werkstätte hellerau (interiors)

lighting design: hamburg design

location: wyk auf föhr, germany