Cubic House in Heidelberg

A German house appears as a monolithic cube clad in black slate
Sustainable living in the Southern German University town of Heidelberg in a villa sitting high on a slope overlooking the river Neckar

This new suburban villa in Southern German University town of Heidelberg is defined by simplicity and its comprehensive use of natural stone, inside and out. Designed by the German Architect Hansjoerg Meier, the house is a monolithic cube high above the river in the picturesque Neckar valley.

The house façade is wrapped around with black slate from the German Mosel valley, a material used for centuries in German castles and churches. Window banks are made of matt finish black granite. The path from street level to the house and spacious terrasses all around of the house are covered with large format red sandstone slaps from a local quarry only a few miles away.

The front cantilever terrasse is protruding over the slope and features a frameless glass railing. Large triple glazed floor to ceiling windows offer stunning views into the river valley. Three-meter-high ceilings on both floors contribute to the airy, spacious feeling of the interior.

From the street the house is closed off by an ancient sandstone wall which is the only remanent of a building which previously occupied the site. The wall features a new massive entrance door and entrance to an underground garage. The deciduous forest behind the house is part of the property and belongs to a conservation area.

The ground floor layout is divided between an entrance hall, stairwell, service space and an open plan living, sitting, dining and kitchen area looking out to a wraparound red sandstone covered terrace. An external seating area under a century old oak tree adjoins the dining space. Wine cellar, sauna and utilities rooms lay behind the main body of the house tucked away under the slope behind the house, as local building regulations limit the house to the footprint of a building previously on site. Internal floors are oak and matt finish white carrara marble stone in the entrance hall and in the bathrooms, white walls and ceilings with build in LED lightening fixtures.

The upper floor contains four bedrooms, bathrooms, stairwell and walk in wardrobe. The two large bedrooms facing the river have both direct access to a large master bathroom with two cubic carrara marble wash basins, oversized bathtub, spacious rainshower and unobstructed river valley views.

The sustainability concept of the house targets carbon neutrality and includes super insolation, motorized external shading jalousies, ventilation system with HEPA filters and heat recovery, LED lightening, floor heating and cooling. Solar panels on the roof, a heat pump and Tesla powerwall batterie making the house largely energy independent of the electricity grid.