A crystal-clear lake, surrounded by dense pine forest. Sandy soils interwoven with roots. And a wonderful silence, broken only by the sounds of nature. In this idyllic setting this beautiful forest property is situated. In the 1920s, it was part of an artists’ colony. Today, it serves as a refuge and place of relaxation.

Originally, a simple wooden summer house from 1926 stood on this property in the southern region of Berlin. This charming little house was in such a desolate state that renovation was not an option though. The conceptual approach was to recreate the atmosphere of the dark forest cottage, its proportions and simple construction in the new weekend house. The building is positioned exactly on the former site, in the center of the property. The new cabin was entirely built as a wooden structure, like its forerunner. From the outside, it is clad in dark brown glazed pine paneling.
With its simple form and understated appearance, it blends into the natural surroundings and gives the impression that it has always been there. At the same time, the external appearance, with its slightly overhanging roof and dark wooden façade, plays with the mythologies and fairy tales of houses in the forest.

The dark building is accentuated by a building incision and a few deliberately placed façade openings with extra-wide frames. In contrast to the dark brown building, these openings and frames are painted white. These color accents also refer to the interior, which is lined on all sides with white-painted pine cladding.
The outer and inner board cladding has a milled round profile. This design feature for the ceiling, roof and walls gives the space a specific atmosphere and is also a reference to the façades and partial interior pane ling of the building that existed before.

The centerpiece of the weekend home is the main living and recreation room. This room extends to the roof with an open space and naturally includes the other areas, such as the gallery above the large western overhang. The rather narrow room appears much larger thanks to the façade-wide glazing on the ground floor and the spatial extensions of the adjoining veranda.
The kitchen and bathroom are designed as separate rooms and are, like the living room, accessible via the small corridor.
This Corridor also accommodates the built-in pine plywood furniture such as the wardrobe and storage cupboards.
The kitchen is designed as an open, yet independent room with a large opening to the living room and a large panoramic window of the same size with a view into the forest. The furniture was also customized entirely from pine plywood.
In addition to the rooms on the ground floor, the sleeping berths are located on the upper floor.

Building project: Forest house | New building of a vacation home in the pine forest of Brandenburg
Client: private
Completion: 2010
Photographer: Clemens Poloczek, Werner Huthmacher
Architectural films: Ertzui Film

For many years, this property in the forest has been carefully planted by an ambitious botanist, the previous owner of the site. The new owners have made it their goal to preserve and continue this natural heritage. Therefore, the new building was to be added into the existing greenery as carefully as possible. As an elongated, rectangular volume, with a cantilevered roof on all sides, the new building stands out discreetly yet expressive within its context of the forest. The cantilevered roof is continued with a surrounding terrace. A lifted and roofed front area that creates the connection between inside and outside. As dark as the surrounding pine trees the exterior appearance of the house is characterized by an anthracite-colored glazed wooden cladding. To emphasize the views into nature, the inside of the building is also developed with dark colours. The high open spaces on the short sides of the building allow the view up into the wooden construction of the roof. The feeling of maximal comfort and safety continues in the living area that is lowered into the ground. It is the interplay of contrasts that give this house and site its identity. Refuge and intimacy on the one hand, wide views and spaciousness on the other.

Building project: Forrest hideaway | new building in the pine forest
Client: private
Completion: 2026 – under construction

As the “Cabin in the Woods”, which was completed in 2011, is extremely popular, its residents regularly receive visitors and there was a desire for a sauna and a small studio, it was time for a structural addition.
In analogy to the Waldhaus, its extension was also made entirely of wood in 2022. In this case, the solid timber floor slab and roof structure were made of cross-laminated timber.

In perfect harmony with its surrounding nature, the Lodge’s rough-sawn cladding is shimmering in a rich and dark forest green. Depending on how the light is falling through the trees, the one-storey building seems to become one with the pine trees around it. This simple house is highlighted only by differently designed openings in the façade. The wellness- and meditation space is characterized by a round window and a double-winged door with glass coffering. The entrance to the studio in the east is also built as a coffered double door. These images evoke memories of the structured paper walls of Japanese tea houses.
The natural surfaces of the wood have also remained visible on all walls on the inside. Only a transparent glaze to protect the wood has been added. The interior of the Sauna is characterized by reused and recycled wood boards.
The small window opening and the glass arched door allow the view from this dark, secluded, and warm chamber into the silence of the calm pine forest.

Building project: Serenity lodge | new building of a Guesthouse in the pine forest of Brandenburg
Client: private
Completion: 2022
Photographer: Clemens Poloczek