This German house in the small city of Ludwigsburg offers a distinct proposition. House in Process, a residence for a family of four, is the redesign of an existing 1961 property. Yet what is different about this structure is that the architects, Stuttgart-based SOMAA Architektur & Innenarchitektur, worked with the owners to continuously develop the home between 2013 and 2026, eventually bringing it to its current form.
Explore the German House in Process by SOMAA
The aim was not to blindly 'replace the 1961 structure, but reread it', the architects explain. Their response focuses on wrapping the structure in a dark, calming envelope – a ventilated skin made of charred timber, following Japanese principles. The team adds that this 'surface follows the logic of yakisugi: fire is understood not as destruction, but as protection, depth and the ability to age'.
Gold-anodised window reveals and a brass front door stand out elegantly from this blackened exterior.
The property contains the main home and an additional independent apartment. The outside's bolder colours give way to light tones indoors, with lots of naturally coloured wood and refurbished existing surface fabric, such as white plaster walls and parquet flooring.
Overall, functionality rules, as rooms and operations were cut out and redefined around the family's daily life and needs.
The need to completely replace the ageing house's roof led to an opportunity – to work on a loft extension, which the architects crafted wrapped entirely in timber in a manner that proves warm and inviting, but also refreshingly minimalist. The team took its cues from studio founder Hadi A Tandawardaja's saying: 'Reduction is not renunciation, but the conscious focus on what truly matters.'
To ensure the German house is up to contemporary sustainability standards and the country's requirements for new buildings, the architects did a full energy assessment and retrofit during the redesign, too. The results led them to add wood-fibre insulation, an insulated pitched roof, triple glazing, an air-to-water heat pump and an in-roof photovoltaic system to support passive temperature control strategies and operational energy needs.
The property's outdoor areas were given just as much love as the interior, with the garden and decks carefully curated to bring in a welcome touch of green space to the family's everyday life. The later addition of a natural pool completes the constellation of al fresco living areas that become an integral part of the home's functions when the weather allows.
Importantly, this project was not a 'linear renovation story,' the architects hasten to point out. The close relationship the team nurtured with the clients and the luxury of time permitted them all to craft a different, slow type of architecture, which delved into not only the family's current needs, but also their future ones – building flexibility into the plan, too.
'The project shows that architecture does not only emerge through the design of a new object, but through the precise continuation of what is already there. A house can grow over years without becoming arbitrary. It can absorb layers without losing its legibility. And in the end, it can appear not as an addition, but as a house that has found its own way,' the architects conclude.
