- Project: Kronbühl Residence
- Architect: Oppenheim Architecture
- Location: Germany, Bodman – Ludwigshafen
- Year: 2022
- Area: 1000 m2
- Photography: Zooey Braun
Nestled between sunflower fields and apple orchards on the German shores of Lake Constance, the Kronbühl Residence by Oppenheim Architecture demonstrates how contemporary architecture can engage in quiet dialogue with its natural surroundings. Designed for a compact plot in a residential neighborhood, the three-story home uses layering, materiality, and landscape integration to achieve both openness and intimacy.
A Landscaped Berm as Foundation
The residence is anchored into the terrain with a vegetated berm that conceals the basement while extending the garden. This green foundation reduces the apparent scale of the house, ensuring it sits respectfully within its neighborhood. Inside the bermed level, a garage, wine cellar, entertainment areas, sauna, and wellness spaces are discreetly embedded, seamlessly connecting interior and exterior programs.
Concrete Volumes and Glass Transparency
Above the natural base, the middle floor is expressed as interlocking bush-hammered concrete volumes separated by expanses of glass. These voids house the living areas, framing shifting perspectives of the lake and fields beyond. Sliding glass panels disappear into concealed pockets within the concrete masses, dissolving barriers and creating a sense of complete transparency toward the landscape.
A Cantilevered Wooden Crown
The residence’s most striking feature is its cantilevered wooden upper volume, shaped by the three main site orientations: the lake, the sunflower fields, and the apple orchards. Wrapped in vertical timber fins, this triangular form houses the master suite. Its corner window frames sunsets over Lake Constance, offering a retreat that feels suspended between earth and sky.
The timber fins provide both aesthetic and functional roles, offering privacy, solar shading, and a rhythm that echoes the natural conditions of the site. This elevated volume, hovering above the solidity of concrete, establishes a balance of lightness and strength.
A Dialogue with Context
Despite its contemporary expression, the house demonstrates sensitivity to its surroundings. By embedding part of its mass into the earth, using natural materials, and carefully framing views, the residence presents itself with a quiet yet confident presence. It is distinctly modern yet deeply tied to the local landscape, standing as both landmark and neighbor.
A Modern Family Retreat
With its integration of landscape, material honesty, and spatial generosity, Kronbühl Residence embodies Oppenheim Architecture’s ethos of connecting people with place. It is not only a luxurious family home but also a modern retreat that amplifies the everyday beauty of its surroundings—sunflower fields, apple orchards, and the shimmering expanse of Lake Constance.
