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Architects: Stephan Maria Lang Architects
- Area: 830 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Sebastian Kolm
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Manufacturers: Bauer Innovativ, Marmor Baumann, Viabizzuno, Vola, Wiedemann Werkstätten
Text description provided by the architects. It was more than an aesthetic exercise. It is a spiritual retreat, a place to cleanse body and soul. The key issue is an architecture deeply connected with nature, developed and set in context to the native forest-like landscape. Any architecture needs to be deeply bound to nature and the change of light.
The Elves Home with the dark indoor pool was built for a young widow for her physical and spiritual well-being. The project is an attempt to create something powerful without being loud. A sensitive place that renders tranquillity and offers various perspectives to the surrounding nature at all seasons.
It is all about light and the countless approaches to its counterpart: the shadow. Large glass openings to the west and east terraces connect to the garden, and vertical openings to the south let direct sunlight into the depth of the room. Greenlight filtered by large trees is reflected by the shiny bronze plastered fireplace and the glossy painted ceilings. The play of shadows is absorbed in the inner grass wallpaper-covered walls and the dark-toned oak floor.
The natural materials in warm and dark tones absorb the sunlight like a forest. The atmosphere is influenced by the Japanese culture of semi-dark shadowed rooms, where the colors seem damped and the glow comes from within. A world where darkness is full of warmth and profound colorfulness.
