<h1>Family House in German Rheine is Home and Office at the Same Time</h1>

photo: Schüco International KG

The project of a family house with residential use on two floors and office space on the first floor immediately stemmed from several fundamental requirements from the client. Among the main ones were transparency, adequate natural light, and the use of natural materials. The result was to be a puristic style of living, emphasizing purity and elegance. The architectural office Engelshove prepared a design combining clarity and functionality with variations in shapes and building materials. To separate the residential part on the ground floor from the first floor, which is primarily designed as an office, the architect utilized a stepped arrangement of building objects and two different facades. The upper floor, fitted with a pentroof with a 10-degree slope, creates a practical overhang on the northern and southern sides, serving as a roof for the terrace and entrance zone.

Dialogue between materials

The client's strict preference for puristic building materials was respected in the choice of cladding and interior furnishings. The architect opted for a contrasting dialogue between colored fiber cement panels dominating the first floor and light monochrome fiber cement boards on the ground floor for the facade. The fiber cement cladding extends into the ground floor at the entrance facade and terrace, visually connecting both building modules. Except for wooden parquet in the bedroom, natural stone Jura Jupiter was selected for the interior floors. The architect left the walls and ceilings pure white.

Light and transparency are a priority

Sufficient access to daylight and transparency had a high priority in shaping the family house. Glass surfaces in aluminum frames serve as a connecting element between two different facades; the elegant metal appearance harmonizes their differences in layout, materials, and colors. The windows are fully recessed into the facade, with a subtle interruption only where the fixed glazing meets the operable sections. Two aluminum window systems were used; large fixed glazing with opening and tilting window doors on the ground floor consists of a highly thermally insulated Schüco AWS 75.SI system. The barrier-free design provides an unobstructed transition between the living room with dining area and the terrace. The remaining operable window units were chosen from the Schüco AWS 75 BS.SI block window system with a concealed window frame. The glazing in aluminum frames visually and technically complements the entrance doors from the Schüco ADS 75.SI system. The shade of the infill corresponds to the color of the window profiles, and the fittings are equipped with a Schüco SafeMatic security lock and biometric access control via the Schüco Fingerprint fingerprint reader. Even when simply closed, the Schüco SafeMatic automatic lock secures the doors at four points without a key. If the key is also turned, the number of locking points increases to five. Thus automatically locked doors can be easily opened from the inside by simply pressing the handle. From the outside, the correct key or biometric data is required. Access to the house is comfortable and maximally secured.

Project details:
Family house with office in the German city of Rheine
Architect: Engelshove Bau-GmbH, Ing.-Büro Architektur Bauunternehmen, Neuenkirchen
Metal materials processing: ASP GmbH & Co.KG, Preußisch Oldendorf
Living space:
Ground floor: 118.25 m2
First floor: 71.25 m2
Construction: Double-layer masonry construction / ventilated facade of fiber cement panels, including 160mm insulation
Completed: February 2012

Schüco products:
Fixed glazing and opening/tilting unit from the Schüco AWS 75.SI system
Block windows from the Schüco AWS 75 BS.SI system with concealed window frame
Entrance doors from the Schüco ADS 75.SI system, equipped with the Schüco Fingerprint fingerprint sensor

Project specifics:
Opening/tilting window doors on the ground floor with a barrier-free threshold
Entrance doors with biometric access control via Schüco Fingerprint and 5-point security lock Schüco SafeMatic with automatic activation of the locking mechanism
Triple insulating glazing with a value of Ug = 0.6 W/m²K
Aluminum profiles in a uniform shade DB 703