The Spreewald woodland outside of Berlin, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is a mosaic of meadows, fields and forests interwoven with criss-crossing streams and rivers. It’s the perfect environment for anyone looking to take regular breaks from their hectic city lives. At the centre of this area of natural heritage now stands a weekend getaway that successfully bridges the gap between these two worlds, combining traditional building techniques with modern architecture to create something that is new, yet still feels like part of its surroundings.

Breathe in the fresh air, centre yourself. Let the beauty of the landscape sink in – no matter what the weather or time of year. Only an hour away from Berlin by car, the Kauperinsel island in the small community of Burg is the perfect place for this family to get away from the noise and stress of the city. When they found this plot of land, the clients knew they had struck gold, with an unobstructed view of the nature reserve to the north and connections to the village’s existing infrastructure to the south.

There were no design restrictions when it came to the gable end, so as a result this was fitted with large glass surfaces that face north, toward the protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Such glazing on the south side would have made the building too warm in summer anyway. The transparent facade checks off one of the main philosophies of the original design: making nature a major player so that people would feel part of their surroundings even when inside the building – no matter what the weather or time of year.
When it came to implementing the glass surfaces on the ground floor, the architects decided to use cero sliding windows by Solarlux. These large building components with slender frames offer maximum transparency, and can slide open across a huge area as required.

The weekend getaway boasts a total of four cero sliding windows, which run on double stainless steel running tracks and can be opened by hand. They are almost 3 metres tall, and the largest is 3.8 metres wide.
On the opposite side of the building, the east facade has fixed cero glazing covering an area of over ten square metres. When the time came to deliver the sliding windows, which weigh 600 kilograms each, the developers used prefabricated sections of concrete to build a kind of temporary road up to the property. The installation itself went off without a hits, as all the components were made to a precise BIM model.

The architect decided to use steel, wood and glass as the materials for the house. The interior is dominated by oak, while the external facade is clad in untreated larch wood as a nod to the region’s traditional building style. The patio flooring is made of bamboo. Both the vertical larch cladding and the patio flooring will weather with time, thus adapting to the light grey steel and aluminium surfaces.
A modern gas boiler with a liquid tank keeps the property at a good base level of warmth and provides hot water, while an enclosed fireplace with a window keeps everyone warm and cosy during the chillier seasons.