HOUSE AT THE APEX: INNOVATIVE WAREMA WINDOW AWNINGS WITH LARGE PRINT

The Berlin architect László Ambrus has built a special residential building in Munich. The building stands out with its integrated Warema window awnings, which give it an unmistakable “face”: Their graphic print shows the shadows cast by trees. In this way, the house blends in perfectly with its tree-filled surroundings at the apex.

Nowadays, façades have to be able to do much more than just satisfy design and urban space aspects: They serve as multifunctional, intelligent and resilient protective skins. The building at Scheitelpunkt in Munich impresses with its textile façade in combination with individual sun and privacy protection. Architect László Ambrus from ambrus+co plan.werk gmbh designed the house for a family of friends. It is situated at the apex of a quiet, semi-circular street and is therefore in an exposed location. The architect divided the building into a “heavy” part with exposed concrete and a “light” part with a glass and textile façade. The latter consists of a textile cloak with integrated Warema window awnings, which give the building an unmistakable appearance.

The house at the apex traces the semi-circular course of the street: It consists of two different halves that are slightly inclined towards each other. The northern section is made of insulating concrete and the first floor is clad in brass. This creates a compact, “heavy” and sturdy impression. In contrast, the “light” southern half of the house is much more delicate and almost weightless due to its floor-to-ceiling glazing and the printed textile cloak on the upper floor.

The textile cape encloses the southern half of the building at street level with a 25-metre-long strip of gray-green weatherproof fabric. Two horizontal guide rails along the parapet and the glazing on the first floor as well as vertical rails at the corners of the building hold the cape in place. The fabric lies about 15 centimetres in front of the supporting structure of the house and its glass skin. The Warema window awnings are creatively woven into the cape.

Towards the garden, the building fans out to follow the trapezoidal plot. This creates the effect that the monolithic structure is pushed about two meters in front of the “lighter” part of the building. Inside, the house offers around 300 square meters of space. The architect continues the material language with floors made of polished screed, walls made of exposed concrete and curtains in the same color as the textile cladding of the façade.

The façade of the house at the apex is characterized by its large-scale digital print on the awning fabric. This creates a harmonious overall look with reliable, weatherproof sun protection. “Why should an awning only work in front of a classic window? I am very satisfied with the result, which required a little courage from everyone involved,” says architect László Ambrus.

With the textile skin and the integrated Warema window awnings with easyZIP guidance, the building blends into the tree-lined surroundings as unobtrusively as possible despite its dominance. Visually, the shadow print is seamlessly continuous. To achieve this, the architect worked together with Warema and the graphic design office NAROSKA Design from Berlin. TYPICO GmbH from Lochau in Austria was responsible for the implementation.

Warema realized the large-scale digital print on the awning fabric as a special solution in accordance with the architect’s requirements. For this highly individual solution, the same shade of fabric was used for the cape and the window awnings. In addition, the printed image on both surfaces merges without any graphic gaps. When the window awnings are lowered, the amazingly realistic impression of a shadow is created. The reliable and stylish sun protection offers both glare protection and a pleasantly cool indoor climate. In addition, Warema window awnings are very wind-resistant and can be used as sun and privacy protection in almost any weather.

There are many housing estates in the Munich city area that were once designed as garden cities. Today, they are undergoing major changes due to a shortage of housing and high land prices. The city of Munich has developed a catalog of measures consisting of open space planning and design guidelines in order to preserve the character of these estates despite densification. These include characteristics such as loose development, deep front gardens, public green spaces and an old stock of trees.

The house at the apex in the south of the city fits into this scheme. As a new building from 2022, it stands in the context of a historically evolved garden city estate from the 1930s. The building has two storeys and a flat roof. In the surrounding area, there are mainly other detached houses from the past decades, but also some new buildings.

In terms of urban planning, the house serves as a mediator between the neighboring buildings, one of which is located directly on the street and the other is set back around 3.5 meters. The new building compensates for this difference by being about halfway along the street. There was also space for a small front garden, typical of the settlement. “The idea of the garden city was easy to implement thanks to the generous plot layout and perfect orientation,” explains architect Ambrus.

Warema is the European market leader in the field of technical sun shading products. Founded in 1955, the family-run company is a full-service provider of intelligent external sun shading and smart control systems. The high-quality and well-designed products from the sun shading expert from Marktheidenfeld in Bavaria are individual, sophisticated and well thought-out. The company supports building owners and planners throughout the entire planning process. Customized solutions from Warema create special outdoor living areas and a pleasant indoor climate in buildings.

The sun shading products also help to reduce energy costs and CO₂ emissions. This follows the claim to act consciously for the environment and people – in line with the guiding principle of the entire group of companies: Reduce, Invest, Innovate. The Warema Group, with over 5,000 employees worldwide, also includes other brands: Caravita is a renowned manufacturer of high-quality sunshades and awnings. Anwis is the Eastern European specialist for interior and exterior sun protection. Wings Professional offers suitable solutions for façade design with custom-made large slats.

Referring to the building at the apex in Munich, architect László Ambrus explains: “‘Awnings’ in this project means a complex system of textile façade cladding”. Although even the best shading solutions reach their limits in extreme weather events, “the textile façade has significantly minimized the need for additional temperature control.” The house at the apex clearly shows what an intelligent, modern and climate-resilient façade with Warema window awnings can look like. You can find more inspiration here.