Holiday House Hof Ahmen draws comparisons to the glasshouse classics of modernism

In the outer lying areas of Berlin, Holiday House Hof Ahmen by Atelier Sunder-Plassmann strives to complement a unique, listed farmhouse while developing an independent modern architectural language for a new building. Design comparisons are drawn to the classics of modernism including the ‘Glass House’ by Phillip Johnson and the ‘Farnsworth House’ by Mies van der Rohe. 

The existing layout of Hof Ahmen is characterized by a rectangular courtyard surrounded by grassland and local rows of trees. At the centre of the site is a listed, thatched main house, and to the east is the detached roof of the sheep barn, which was built in the 1990s as an open wooden construction. 

The new holiday house serves as an extension of the freestanding roof structure, blending into the context with a fifth, floating roof. Beneath this roof is a completely glazed platform, which allows residents prime views over their surroundings.

Visitors enter the home through a terrace, which also serves as an outdoor area in the summer. Once inside, the main room is divided into three areas by wooden lamellas that create a sense of volume without dividing the space entirely. 

Located in the southern area the is the dining area whereas the northern area, which is privileged by 5 o’clock sunshine, is where the living area is located. The central part of the volume integrates a wet area within a furniture area that separates it from the main room. On the other side, the kitchen floats as a mirrored volume.  Finally, two wooden cubes accommodating sleeping areas are inserted into the platform volume. Sliding doors allow for flexible use of the closed areas, which contrast starkly with the open nature of the main platform. 

Ultimately, the house is a striking contrast between rural and modern, open and closed, landscape and architecture, all placed within the nature that surrounds.