The stone-clad street-front façade of this opulent residence in Munich appears mausoleum-like, impressive and enigmatic.
In contrast, the other side of the house is completely open to the beautiful garden through all-glass walls that in some cases move in rails to connect the rooms directly with the outdoors and let natural light in.
The building was designed by the Dutch architecture firm Powerhouse Company known for confident and daring work.
The project’s interior design firm, the famous Paris-based Liaigre took some of its main design cues from the façade. They kept the material palette sparse and bold, limiting themselves mainly to stone and wood.
Their most startling choice is the extensive use of green Italian onyx. In the smaller, casual espresso kitchen huge onyx panels, all cut from the same block of stone, cover the walls. A large block of onyx with rounded corners forms a counter top. This is also the area where the couple’s four children usually eat.
The luxurious green onyx appears again in the massive walk-in closet adjacent to the master bedroom and continues to the master bathroom.
The extensive use of wood, stone and brass paneling in the home was not just an extension of the theme set by the facade but also a response to the owners’ dislike of white walls.
Liaigre director Frauke Meyer was quoted as saying that it was “interesting” to design a 36,000-square-foot (3,344 sq.m.) house with some 19,000 square feet (1,765 sq.m.) of interior design with no white walls.
The core of the four-story house is pierced by a sculptural staircase with the staircase halls featuring Muschelkalk stone and cedar paneling on the walls.
The fourth-floor includes a gym, a swimming pool and a bowling alley. The lowest floor features an area that houses the owners’ collection of cars which are literally driven right into the house. Tuija Seipell.
