Press Release
Carlos Zwick Architekten BDA Receives the Golden A' Design Award for Haus Am See Residential House in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
The international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Carlos Zwick Architekten BDA for architecture, building and structure design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Golden A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category for Haus Am See Residential House by Carlos Zwick Architekten BDA. The recognition forms part of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Golden A' Design Award Means
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
More About Haus Am See Residential House
Haus Am See is a residential house built beside a lake in Potsdam, Germany. The building rests on a steel skeleton carried by 40 diagonal stilts set on ten separate foundations, so the centuries old trees on the site remain untouched. One tree grows through the house. Ceilings, floors and walls are made of pine wood, the thermal insulation is cellulose fiber, and the facade is formed of narrow vertical larch slats. The roof surfaces are planted. Sliding windows three meters high and seven meters wide open the living spaces toward the water.
About Carlos Zwick Architekten BDA
Carlos Zwick Architekten BDA is an architectural office based in Berlin and founded in 1989. An international team of architects, engineers and designers working under the direction of Carlos Zwick, who successfully realized numerous projects in more than 30 years of his career. Carlos Zwick studied architecture at the technical college in Munich after having successfully completed his apprenticeship as carpenter. In Berlin he completed his studies at the university department of urban development. The team is specialized in residential projects, both reconstruction and new construction.
Award Record
With this recognition, Carlos Zwick Architekten BDA is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award
The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Entries typically include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. Awarded architectural projects are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/architecture
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/135868
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/135868
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!135868
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/326890
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.carlos-zwick.de/portfolio/haus-am-see/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Haus Am See Residential House
- Function
- Residential House
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dark Olive Green, Dim Gray, Black and Olive Drab
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Carlos Zwick Architekten BDA
- Country
- Germany
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2021 - 2022
- Design ID
- #135868
Credits
- Team
- Carlos Zwick and Mejo C. Joy
- Image Credits
- José Campos
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The house on the lake also treats its protagonist – nature - with the greatest respect. Interior and exterior seem to merge with each other. The hundreds of years old trees live with the inhabitants of the house, they are present everywhere and one even grows through the house. The large crowns of the ancient oaks and chestnuts take the modern tree house with its restrained wooden facade in their midst.
- Inspiration
- The architectural concept of the house pays tribute to the historical roots of the place. Without compromise, it subordinates itself to them without touching their essence. The structure floats above the terraces, respecting their space and form.
- Research
- Nature, in the first place, is playing the star role in the draft of the architect’s house. The water had him captivated and he thought to himself, how can he places the interior and exterior as close to the lake as possible. The first drafts were quickly realized, Mies van der Rohes Farnsworth House as the inspiration. It would be a house which respected the nature by integrating it in its architecture. The age-old trees would remain untouched – this was clear from the beginning.
- Challenge
- Due to the large tree population on the property, the structure could not be erected with a normal tower crane. Instead, the entire building was assembled in sections using a telescopic forklift. A major challenge was the complete infrastructure: supply and disposal of water or wastewater with the necessary slope in the weight-bearing ceiling structure. For this purpose, the holes required for all pipes had to be integrated in the wooden beams and steel girders. As a result, each beam and each girder is unique.
- Realization and Technology
- The ceilings, floors and walls of the house are made of pine wood, and the thermal insulation is made of cellulose fiber. The facade is made of vertical narrow larch slats and the roof surfaces are extensively greened.
- Operation and Interaction
- Despite the height of the living level, the loggia is nevertheless situated 8 meters above the water surface, making the lake ever present in the house. At breakfast time the users of the house already see gray herons and swans passing by at eye level and in the evening here and there you will see otters waddling through the shallow water. The heart of the house is the large kitchen-dining room, with a fireplace, seating area and a 7.5 m long olive wood table. Here is where the family with six children come together and enjoy their meals.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in 2016 and finished in 2020. In Potsdam, Germany.
- Specifications
- The house has a living area of 610 m², of which 66.5 m² is the loggia and 6.4 m² is the patio. The load-bearing structure of the building is a steel skeleton standing on 40 diagonal stilts spread across 10 individual foundations. All cabinets inside the house are built-in cabinets made by a carpenter. The sliding windows to the lake side are 3 meters high and 7 meters wide. The handicapped accessibility of the house is ensured by an appropriate elevator.
- Keywords
- passive house, german architecture, sustainable design, steel structures, house on stilts, lake house
