Thatched-roof house

The planned residential building lies on a spacious property with direct access to the beach on the western side of Sylt, an island in the North Sea, one of a group belonging to Germany long known as venues for rest & recreation. Though the house takes on classic materials and shapes befitting the surrounding structures, the customary thatched roof is interpreted in a completely new way. The entire structural envelope – roof and walls – is thatched. What consequently emerges is an overall impression with a nearly sculptural bearing. The relatively ‘soft’ organic design language shaped by the thatch is intriguingly broken up by four glassed-in cubic outward additions. Illumination and ventilation of the house occur exclusively via these elements.

Two of the glazed additions have been continued into the upper floor as dormers, the other two follow the slope of the roof and provide space to step outside with a seaside view. Indoors, the room beneath the roof incline has been partitioned into a bedroom, bath, work area and storage spaces. The ground floor accommodates a living room/dining room/kitchen area along with necessary rooms for closet space and household connections. Additional rooms for ancillary purposes and engineering together with an area for fitness and sauna are envisaged for the cellar. Ambient light enters through shafts with windows built down to the floor.

The out-of-the-ordinary draft for the thatched-roof house unites traditional materials with an innovative formative style. It demonstrably visualises that the use of thatch in contemporary architecture opens up new paths for design whose options and possibilities are far from being exhausted.