House Mayer-Kuckuk

The house designed by Wolfgang Döring in 1967 has long since been a classic of modern construction. It was designed in a time of technical utopias and meant to apply industrial production to the construction of houses.

The constructive elements are very visible. It rather resembles a production site than a single family home. The prefab has a structure of wood glue beams and is braced with triangular wood slabs. Slabs are hung into the truss which on the outside are cladded in cement asbestos, inside in chipboards.
The building rests on slim steel rods embedding the wood glue beams in the concrete foundations. The bulk of the building consists of the two-floor main living room and has a working gallery reached via a spiral staircase.

The other rooms are situated along a narrow hallway. The design also envisaged a changeable layout, adapted to what the respective residents would want.
At costs of DM 80,000 for 150 sq m of dwelling space the building was remarkably cheap, even in 1967. Also remarkable was the construction time of only five days to tie the prefab elements to the concrete foundations. The house was planned as the prototype of an entire prefab series, which, however, has never been realised.

Awards:
Rheinisch-Westfälischer Staatspreis für Denkmalpflege 2016, Preisträger

Author: editorial baukunst nrw
Last changed on 20.09.2023

 

Categories:
Architecture » Residential buildings » Single and Duplex Houses