Villa Thiede

Residential house in Hamburg – Northern district of the city - Hamburg, 1999

Challenge: to create two unique and independent dwelling units from a cohesive, sculptural whole. The circumstances of this property – set back from the road in a Hamburg suburb that is otherwise dominated by densely packed single-family houses – created a wonderful design opportunity: we could bring light and views in from several directions into all of the spaces. 

In the end, we created two units; one on the ground floor and the basement, the other on the upper floor. The north side of the structure contains the private spaces of retreat. We used cantilevers and recesses to ensure that the open, public spaces to the south are flexible-use spaces. Additionally, both residences are able to share a garden due to the careful design of an exterior stair.