House by the Lake - Family Home Design on Historic Lakeside Property

Thousands of excursionists used to enjoy homemade ice cream and lemonade on this historic lakeside property in Potsdam until the old park cafe there closed its doors. 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Berlin-based architect Carlos Zwick fell in love with the overgrown property. He bought it, including dilapidated monuments, without a building permit, but with a vision: a family place was to be built here, a house that would uncompromisingly engage with the essential elements of the surrounding nature. Ancient trees, water, and nature preserved emperor terraces – given the name due to the fact that the emperor actually enjoyed drinking his coffee here in the past - determined the architectural concept. Today, the passive house stands on 40 diagonal iron stilts whose 10 individual foundations respectfully touch the emperor’s terraces only at specific points. A steel grid supports the wooden floors, walls, and ceilings. The ecological balance is in place - this is ensured by the sustainable