Hexenhaus: House for Man and Cat documents the fifteen-year transformation of a timber and glass dwelling in the forests of Hessen, Germany — a project initiated by a letter written, ostensibly, by a cat, and realised by Alison and Peter Smithson.
About This Book
In 1984, German furniture-maker Axel Bruchhäuser approached Alison and Peter Smithson with an unusual commission, framed through a playful exchange between cats. What followed was a decade and a half of incremental renovation that would come to embody the Smithsons' concept of the ‘law of the conglomerate’ — the idea that a house grows organically, step by step, absorbing its surroundings rather than resisting them. Situated in a dense Hessen forest near the region associated with the Brothers Grimm, the Hexenhaus expanded and opened to admit both light and trees into the interior. This book traces that process, presenting a project that distils the early radical sensibility and anti-aesthetic rigour central to the Smithsons' architectural legacy.
Key Features
- 272 pages of architectural documentation and photography of the Hexenhaus project
- Authors: A. Ramos, M. Schimemi, and S. Smithson
- Published by Walther König, 2001
What You'll Discover
- How the Smithsons applied their ‘law of the conglomerate’ — an additive, incremental approach to architectural renovation that resists totalising design gestures
- The material poetics of wood and glass in the Hexenhaus, including latticework construction and the integration of natural light as a primary spatial element
- The unusual origins of the commission and what they reveal about the Smithsons' collaborative and playful relationship with clients
- How the forest itself became part of the interior, with trees and landscape absorbed into the spatial experience of the house over fifteen years of construction
About the Author
The book is authored by A. Ramos, M. Schimemi, and S. Smithson. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 272
- Dimensions: 222 x 286 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783960989325
- Publisher: Walther König
- Publication Date: 2001
Perfect For: Architects and students interested in the Smithsons' later work, researchers of British post-war architecture, and anyone drawn to projects where site, material, and time are treated as equal design forces.