On the street side, the house reads as a dark wooden volume set among trees. Step closer, and the mass opens up in a different way: the lower level sits partly below ground, while the upper floor projects above it in a clear, compact stack. The result is a semi-underground house that uses the slope of the site rather than resisting it. Large openings draw light deep inside, and the full-height glazing keeps the forest close in every room that faces it.

Built into a slope of thirteen metres

The plot drops by thirteen metres from top to bottom, which shaped the entire layout. Instead of spreading outward, the compact single-family home is anchored into the terrain and split across two levels. That move gives the lower floor direct access to the terrace, while the upper floor stays aligned with the street. From one side the building feels grounded; from the other, it appears to lift away from the concrete base. The section is doing most of the work here, turning the incline into usable interior space.

The program had to fit four bedrooms, two bathrooms, an atelier, the cooking, dining and living areas, and storage into a tight volume. That requirement explains the economy of the plan. Circulation stays clear, rooms are arranged with little wasted space, and the boundaries between functions are kept legible through level changes and openings rather than extra walls. In this semi-underground house, the spatial idea is straightforward: compress the structure, then release the rooms toward light and views where the site allows it.

From dark volume to transparent edge

The exterior mass is not treated as one fixed box. It gradually breaks down across the facades, moving from a dark, opaque presence near the street to a transparent glass living space with forest views at the edge of the building. That shift is easy to read in the elevations: solid black cladding gives way to larger glazed sections, and the house becomes lighter as it meets the trees. The change is structural as much as visual, because the volume seems to loosen as the glazing takes over.

That transition matters inside too. The house with floor-to-ceiling windows does not simply frame the landscape; it pulls the trees into the daily route through the rooms. The glass frontage gives the interior long sightlines, while the darker surfaces hold the plan together behind it. In several spaces, the window rhythm is marked by vertical divisions, which keep the façade measured without blocking the view. The effect is precise rather than showy, and it suits the restrained shape of the building.

Wood, concrete and steel in plain view

Material choices stay direct throughout the project. Wood, concrete and steel are used without decorative masking, which keeps the structure easy to read. On the lower level, prefabricated insulated walls made of two reinforced concrete panels leave the concrete visible from inside and outside. That rough surface gives the semi-underground level a heavy, grounded character, especially where it opens directly onto the terrace. Above it, the upper floor is built as an industrial steel truss structure, insulated with sandwich panels and finished in black-stained wood.

The contrast between these parts is not just technical. It shapes the mood of each level. Concrete surfaces catch a cooler light in the lower rooms, while the upper volume introduces darker timber and slimmer structural lines. In the interior photographs, wood paneling appears beside metal stair rails, black frames and glass panes, so the material palette stays consistent from room to room. Even the smaller details, such as a bench, a shelf system or a stair edge, repeat the same three materials in different proportions.

A terrace that extends the lower level

The lower floor opens directly onto a terrace, and that move turns the semi-underground house into a place where inside and outside meet at the same threshold. The terrace with glass frontage is not an afterthought. It works as an extension of the living zones, giving the lower level a broad outlook and making the concrete walls feel less enclosed. From there, the glazing pulls in the surrounding trees, so the outdoor space reads as part of the same daily route as the kitchen and living room.

Seen from the exterior images, the terrace and upper openings reinforce the suspended quality of the design. The upper floor projects several metres above the concrete substructure, and the house seems to hover between the trunks rather than sit heavily on the site. Black metal rails, sharp roof edges and deep window reveals keep the silhouette tight. The house with floor-to-ceiling windows gains its strongest effect here: not by making the façade disappear, but by letting the upper openings hold a constant relation with the forest.

Rooms arranged around light, not surplus space

Inside, the plan is shaped by use rather than excess. The living, dining and cooking areas are grouped so that the larger shared spaces stay close to the glazing, while the more enclosed functions can sit deeper in the volume. The atelier benefits from the same logic, with bright openings and a direct reading of the structure around it. Storage is absorbed into the plan, allowing the compact single-family home to remain clear in its movement and to avoid the clutter that often comes with a large program in a small footprint.

The photographs show how the interior shifts from one material register to another without abrupt breaks. A kitchen work surface sits against a glazed opening, with dark pendant lights suspended above it. A stair with a black handrail cuts diagonally through another space, and a bedroom uses wood-lined walls and a broad window band to keep the view central. These are not isolated scenes; they are part of one sequence in which the semi-underground house stays close to the terrain and to the light filtered through the trees.

Details that keep the forest in view

Several details repeat the same idea in a smaller scale. Vertical window divisions structure the openings without crowding them. Black balustrades and railings sharpen the edges of the interior. In the atelier and corridor views, concrete surfaces meet glass panes and dark metal frames with little ornament. That directness lets the eye move quickly from one room to the next, while the forest remains visible as a constant backdrop. Even the bedroom scene follows this pattern, with a bed set against dark walls and a tall window that keeps the trees present.

The final impression is of a house that uses restraint as a way to stretch the site. A semi-underground house can easily disappear into its own construction logic, but here the lower concrete level, the steel upper floor and the glass living space with forest views stay distinct. The building is compact, yet it never feels compressed. It is shaped by the slope, opened by the terrace, and held together by wood, concrete and steel materials that remain visible rather than hidden behind finishes.

Across the whole project, the dark outer volume, the transparent edge and the measured interior sequence work as one continuous response to the site. The result is a house that stays close to the ground where it needs to, then opens outward where the trees begin.