Philipp Architekten designed Villa Fröschle on a hillside in Heilbronn, Germany. The three-story house, designed in 2020, features loft-like living spaces elevated above a garden atrium with a pool and a movable wooden deck. Architect Anna Philipp aimed to create a modern treehouse feel by placing key living areas on the first floor, away from the street’s hustle.
Philipp Architekten designed the three-storey house as a tribute to the strong connection they formed with the clients. Architect Anna Philipp combined loft-like living spaces with a music-themed interior set on a hillside in Heilbronn, Germany.
The residential structure was conceived on a site surrounded by “commercial enterprise” and further bordered by streets, leading Philipp to elevate the main living spaces on the first floor above the ground-level garden, creating an environment akin to a modern treehouse.
“When I design,” said Philipp, “I always focus on the people I build for and the specific place where I build.”
Philipp Architekten placed the clients’ home on a hillside and surrounded the garden with closed and offset white walls to prevent noise from entering the space and to form a protected entrance to the house.
The 20-metre-long (66-foot-long) loft-like living space, the highlight of the home, features floor-to-ceiling glazing that offers views into the treetops and “towards a castle on the horizon,” noted Philipp.
Daylight enters the heart of the loft through the stairway, which recedes back and upwards into a sky lounge on the roof.
A 15-metre-long (49 feet) seat window stretches through the space, positioned across from the treetops. Like the long dining table, kitchen, library wall, house bar, dressing room and many other furnishing elements, Philipp Architekten created it especially for Villa Fröschle.
A grand piano and cello sit centrally in the space at the intersection of living and dining. A pergola-like structure, placed directly above the kitchen, filters daylight into the space and projects patterns on work surfaces, continuing the playful theme informed by the family’s love of music.
“White also dominates here as a colour in combination with a floor in exposed concrete optics,” added Philipp of the design choices and material palette, which the studio hoped balanced an elegant, refined yet welcoming atmosphere.
A secluded study, house bar and fireplace room occupy the sky lounge on the roof of Villa Fröschle, which serves as an escape from the hustle and bustle. A large roof terrace surrounds the lounge, featuring a parapet-high attic that allows for views while maintaining privacy.
Downstairs, Philipp Architekten opted for a simpler design with two guest bedrooms for the client’s children and an informal black box music and rehearsal room.
“That framing gesture brings a lovely intimacy to the loft,” said Philipp of the loft, “although there is hardly an intersection between the main architecture and the main living space.”
“This naturally gives the architecture a very unique expression,” they added.
Philipp Architekten was founded by Philipp. Their residential designs frequently feature loj interiors, expanding communal spaces outward to hybrid indoor-outdoor spaces.
