Bressen II (nat)

Well-intended. A very low rear extension was added to the historical spaces; spaces with generous ceiling heights. So low, in fact, that only the slimmest skylight fits in between. But what is gained is quickly outweighed by what is lost. We try to do better.

The modest skylight is expanded into a full-fledged window. No more half-measures. The window looks out onto a cut in the mass: a small patio; a micro-biotope with a self-filtering pond, climbing plants, and a narrow jetty. The plants climb up a black trellis, first beside the windows, then above them. The patio shifts, cuts away on the diagonal. Alongside it, a slanted corridor. Beside that, a tapered interior volume housing a few practical functions. Past the patio, the space reclaims the full width of the plot. The kitchen tucks itself into the side. It wraps along the edge, slender and low at the ends and rising thick and solid toward the middle, away from the glass. Someone rinses vegetables, water splashes. Sunlight grazes the pond; the pond replies, sending back its trembling reflection.