Tiefes Haus is a minimalist home located in Dreieich, Germany, designed by HGA + Marc Flick. In a quiet neighborhood, nestled among villas and shaded by mature trees, a remarkable architectural intervention has taken form. What might appear at first glance as a simple residential extension reveals itself, upon closer inspection, as a sophisticated dialogue between old and new, between raw materiality and refined detail.

The architects have approached this narrow plot with a poetic sensibility, retaining and reinterpreting the existing structure’s split-level configuration rather than erasing it. This decision speaks to a growing design ethos that values continuity and adaptation over the tabula rasa approach that dominated much of 20th-century modernism. The offset floor levels create a rhythmic spatial sequence that unfolds as one moves through the building—each level shift marking a subtle transition in function and atmosphere.

The two-story gallery that connects the disparate sections of the house serves as both physical link and conceptual hinge. Flooded with northern light through expansive glazing, this space embodies what Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa calls “the eyes of the skin”—an architecture that engages multiple senses simultaneously. The concrete walkway that traverses this void seems to float, creating a moment of tension and release in the journey through the home.

Materials here perform a carefully orchestrated dance. Raw concrete surfaces—with their honest expression of formwork and process—provide a backdrop for more refined elements: polished terrazzo flooring that catches and plays with light throughout the day, and floor-to-ceiling oak windows and doors that warm the space with their natural grain and color. This materiality connects the project to brutalist traditions while softening their sometimes austere character.