Black

Black cubature on the Lofoten Islands

Calm and robust, the Black Aurora Nook defies the harsh land­scape of the Nor­wegian Lofoten Islands.

Located on the island of Aus­t­vågøya, the black wooden house is sur­rounded by steep cliffs and deep fjords, wild coast­lines and secluded beaches – the simple cubature of two opposing struc­tures with a mono-pitched roof interacts with the shapes and dimen­sions of the sur­roun­dings. The interior, which can be divided as required, is bright and warm thanks to the use of unt­reated wood. It is divided into two areas with dif­ferent ceiling heights: the living and dining area opens up to the fjord with a large window front, while the bedroom and bunk bed offer a view of the coun­tryside. Enchanting: both sea eagles and the nor­thern lights can be observed from the gallery levels.

Mini­malism in the Wes­terwald

The two purist holiday homes at Kleine Bleibe [Small Place] on the edge of the Gel­bachtal valley in the Wes­terwald promise peace and rela­xation in harmony with nature.

With its solid base and black wooden façade, the mini­malist archi­tecture inter­prets the tra­di­tional design of regional half-tim­bered houses. Inside, sur­rounded by light-coloured coni­ferous wood, you almost feel as if you are in a tree house that con­nects with nature through large window ope­nings. The Wald­wunder [Forest Wonder] house can accom­modate up to four people, while the Gip­fel­glück [Summit Hap­piness] house is sui­table for couples or close friends. All of the fur­nis­hings are envi­ron­men­tally fri­endly. In addition to the shared sauna house – the ‘heat box’– the free­standing bathtub with a view of the forest is a real high­light.

Yakisugi in the vol­canic Eifel

Clad in black charred planks, the Kleine Vul­kan­ei­felhaus [Small Vol­canic Eifel House] offers a retreat for two in the midst of the con­trasting Eifel land­scape.

Perched on a plinth of exposed con­crete, the house appears rather closed from the ent­rance side due to the low-pitched roof and its few ope­nings – on the valley side, however, it opens up with a high gable and large windows onto a terrace above the large orchard. The mate­rials used in the interior, such as the rough-cut quartzite and light-coloured wood, create an addi­tional con­nection with nature. The poly­gonal floor plan and the dif­ferent ceiling heights create zones for dif­ferent uses – alt­hough one thing remains the same ever­y­where: the expansive view of the land­scape.

Netz­schuppen on the Schlei

The five Netz­schuppen [Net sheds] apart­ments, clad in black wood and designed in the style of Scan­di­navian fisher­men’s houses, stand close tog­ether in Kap­peln’s fishing harbour, directly on the Schlei.

The split-level archi­tecture with four mez­za­nines gives the interior a spa­cious loft cha­racter. All rooms – from the living area with open-plan kitchen to the bed­rooms, which can be sepa­rated by sliding doors – are bright and wel­coming, with wooden floors, lots of glass and simple, beau­tifully designed fur­niture. The large window front is almost like a home cinema: there is always some­thing to see here, whether it’s the morning departure of the cutters and sailing boats or simply the colourful hustle and bustle on the pro­menade. Holiday guests can find peace and rela­xation in the com­munal garden behind the houses.

Black on the outside, white on the inside

The Shingle House stands on the shingle beach of Dun­geness, Kent, UK in the middle of the almost surreal land­scape of a nature reserve.

The house cor­re­sponds in form and mate­rials with the scat­tered fisher­men’s huts in the area and, like them, is clad in black tarred shingles. It is divided into three parts, which are laid out as indi­vidual huts con­nected by a cor­ridor: the living area and bed­rooms are in the main house; from here you can access the kitchen house and the bath house. The inte­riors form a colourful con­trast to the dark façade and stand out in bright white. Modern pieces of fur­niture and sel­ected tex­tiles ensure warmth and cosiness – and provide a con­trast to the rugged natural sur­roun­dings.

Asym­metry in the Ahrntal

At the Bühelwirt [Bühel Inn] in South Tyrol’s Ahrntal Valley, tra­dition and modernity merge har­mo­niously:

an extension with an almost black wooden façade has been added to the over one hundred year old tra­di­tional inn, the clear form of which is broken up by num­erous offset and slanted loggias with large window ope­nings and small bal­conies. The new building with rooms, restaurant and wellness area is located below the old building and is con­nected to it by a foot­bridge. The interplay of history and modern archi­tecture is con­tinued in the inte­riors: the rooms are fur­nished in a mini­malist style, while regional mate­rials such as larch wood and loden wool fabrics har­monise with the sur­roun­dings and the history of the location.

Refuge on Skye

Simple and mini­malist, the Black h holiday home clad in black larch wood rests on the rugged west coast of the Scottish Isle of Skye.

Sur­rounded by meadows and pas­tures, the house, con­sisting of two cubic struc­tures, offers a refuge for two people. The inte­riors are mini­malist and har­mo­niously fur­nished – exposed con­crete meets light oak wood, ele­ments of dark larch con­trast with a few accents of warm colour. The floor-to-ceiling pan­o­ramic windows offer magni­ficent views of the land­scape on two sides – from here and from the ter­races in front, you can not only see the Macleod’s Tables, Loch Bra­cadale and the Cuillins, but also watch sheep, otters and dol­phins.

Anthr­acite-coloured sheet metal façade

With its dark sheet metal façade and par­al­le­logram-shaped floor plan, Haus Göhre am Flee­sensee in the heart of the Meck­lenburg Lakes Dis­trict is a real eye-catcher from the outside.

Inside, the unusual shape makes for an inte­resting spatial structure – with the indi­vidual areas flowing into one another, some­times con­nected by a few steps, with views of the vast Meck­lenburg land­scape ever­y­where. The light-coloured wood panelling con­trasts with the anthr­acite-coloured façade and it’s colour scheme is echoed in ele­ments such as the kitchen island, indi­vidual lights and chairs. The Finnish sauna offers a retreat in the cold season, while the garden and terrace are perfect for relaxing in the sunshine.

Regional mate­rials from the Dolo­mites

In a small hamlet in the Dolo­mites, at an altitude of 1,200 metres, there are two almost iden­tical buil­dings, arranged in a stag­gered ensemble, which at first glance do not seem to fit in at all with their simple, black wooden façades – and yet they blend har­mo­niously into the sur­roun­dings: La Pede­villa.

The ensemble reflects the tra­di­tional cour­tyard type and its cha­rac­te­ristic orna­ments and fea­tures such as the pitched roof, loggia and wooden façade – and reinter­prets them at the same time. The design of inte­riors fea­tures exclu­sively local mate­rials: light-coloured dolomite stone for the exposed con­crete, Swiss stone pine and larch wood for the floors and doors. The result is a retreat that is as purist as it is warm – with a spec­ta­cular view of the moun­tains.

Mono­lithic building in Upper Fran­conia

With its uniform slate cladding on the façade and roof, the Refugium Bet­zen­stein has an almost mono­lithic appearance.

The long house with a double pitched roof on the out­skirts of the his­toric town of Bet­zen­stein in Upper Fran­conia is based on the typical forms and mate­rials of the region and adapts them to the present day: the modern passive house has a clear and straight­forward appearance, the white plas­tered base con­trasts with the dark-clad upper floor. The two 45 square metre barrier-free holiday apart­ments on the ground floor each consist of a large room with a living and dining area and a sleeping area and open up to the outside with floor-to-ceiling window fronts. When designing the inte­riors, par­ti­cular emphasis was placed on eco­lo­gical aspects – from envi­ron­men­tally fri­endly building mate­rials to deco­rative ele­ments with a natural look.

Text / com­pi­lation: Tina Barankay

Photos: © Felix Moo­neeram (Cover picture; Black h), © Paul Sebesta (Black Aurora Nook), © Célia Uhalde (Kleine Bleibe), © Holger Knauf, Con­stantin Meyer (Kleines Vul­kan­ei­felhaus), © Nico Kraus (Netz­schuppen), © Jack Hob­house (The Shingle House), © Michael Raben­steiner (Bühelwirt), © (Haus Göhre am Flee­sensee), © Mat­thias Funken, Elena Krämer (Haus Göhre am Flee­sensee), © Gustav Ludwig Willeit (La Pede­villa), © Herbert Bucher (Refugium Bet­zen­stein)