Page 124 - PortfolioHR_23

VILLA SONDHEIMER, FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY
The ground and first floors will accommodate the entertaining and dining rooms. The main entrance is, as existing, from the northwest. A secondary entrance functions as disabled access from the
north. This entrance leads to a lobby and central vertical circulation that connects all floors from the basement to the third floor. Our initial idea is to give ground floor dining rooms an understated ele- gance through the use of rich material: Statuary marble on the walls, black and gold marble for the columns and a medium dark walnut for the flooring and coffered ceiling. A mirrored band at the junction between the walls and ceiling emphasizes, even more, the floor space creating the illusion of openness. The enfilade of these rooms leads to the glazed porch from which an honorific staircase takes the visitor into the gardens.
The Gardens are envisaged as both contemplative and entertaining grounds. The perimeter trimmed hedge with its shaped seats allow for private seating and conversation. At the same time, the great expanse of the central lawn with the expansive canopies of the mature trees becomes an ideal space for outdoor entertaining. A shallow water feature is situated on axis with the staircase leading to the enfilade entertaining rooms of the first floor, thereby announcing the internal space of the Villa and the extensive spaces of the gardens, which can be appreciated and used as one. A tented folly is located at the gardens’ far north boundary, which serves as an outdoor dining/function marquee. From there, the visitors can appreciate the splendour of the Villa with its asymmetrical portico that should be restored to its original massing.