architekten cork create house made rundzwei
Aug 16, 2025
Karl van Es

rundzwei Architekten Create House Made of Cork

[caption id="attachment_8714" align="alignnone" width="1788"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten View from the garden. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption]  

CORK SCREW HOUSE | RUNDZWEI ARCHITEKTEN

Berlin, Germany Maximizing living space between rammed concrete and a cork roof. A flexible residence by rundzwei Architekten Description provided by rundzwei Architekten. The young office rundzwei Architekten has realized an unusual residence with a cork facade and roof. A base of rammed concrete lies below the ground level. Above, skilfully stacked split levels, which allow for flexible use, are accessed via a central, atrium-like staircase.   [caption id="attachment_8708" align="alignnone" width="1000"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Entrance Door. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8707" align="alignnone" width="1768"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Central Stair. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption]  

A base made from rammed concrete

Office principals Andreas Reeg and Marc Dufour-Feronce place special attention on the local connection of their buildings.e for the lower ground living levels. The outdoor walls of the long stretched pool are also lined with the material. The base was rationally applied in layers and then manually compacted. This results in an open, porous and characterful textured surface.

  [caption id="attachment_8710" align="alignnone" width="1748"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Open plan bathroom rammed concrete. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8720" align="alignnone" width="1600"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Direct access to the pool. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption]  

Maximizing usable area by lowering floors and introducing multi split-levels.

Although the local planning regulations allow for a maximum floor size of 100m2, by lowering the base floors and arranging the upper floors in multiple split-levels, the architects have maximized the gross floor area to over 320m2. The planning concept of two-part construction - base and top - was maintained for the material selection: the levels below ground are built in rammed concrete with the upper levels framed in timber.   [caption id="attachment_8717" align="alignnone" width="1722"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Lower living level. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8712" align="alignnone" width="1855"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Living spaces with two levels. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8716" align="alignnone" width="2197"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Central stair with natural light. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption]  

Cork panels on facade and roof

On the ground floor, large-scale glass elements fill the interior with daylight. The facades above, as well as the roof surfaces l in Portugal. As a by-product of the cork production process for bottles, granulated cork waste is formed into facade panels under pressure and heat. During this process, the natural resins of the cork are released, binding the granulate thereby creating a lightweight and durable cladding material through sustainable methods. The resulting cork facade panels are naturally weather and mold-resistant without any artificial additives.   [caption id="attachment_8709" align="alignnone" width="1031"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Gable facade and Balcony. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption]   Natural cork has very high insulation values and is well suited to use as a monolithic facade cladding. The choice of this material contributes significantly to the energy efficiency and sustainability of the building. Cork also provides good acoustic insulation and reduces the sound of dripping rain. Initially, it was through the client's interest in achieving good acoustic performance that the architects came across this unusual choice of material.   [caption id="attachment_8713" align="alignnone" width="1000"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Door bell and door handle. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption]  

Natural construction materials, natural ventilation

During the construction process, the architects abstained from the use of chemical adhesives and construction foam. Wood fiber and cellulose insulation materials were used in addition to the insulating cork panels. Humidity absorbing materials such as timber and gypsum fiber boards with permeable paints allow for a natural room climate. As a result, the building doesn't need an active ventilation system despite the very low energy standard. Through a stratified heat storage system supplemented by roof-integrated solar panels, the heating supply is almost self-sufficient adding to the efficiency of the building's overall performance   [caption id="attachment_8711" align="alignnone" width="3140"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Living under the gable. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption]  

Flexible living

The house was planned for three. The base of the building incorporates a bedroom next to the living and kitchen area. This room has direct access to the exterior sunken pool. This feature stretches from the house into the garden while maintaining privacy from the neighbors through the surrounding rammed concrete walls. The smaller rooms on the upper levels are accessed via the central circulating stair. They are partially connected and in the future could be used as studio apartments. To provide future flexibility, the architects have allowed space and structural provision for a potential second entrance in the façade.   [caption id="attachment_8715" align="alignnone" width="1700"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Wooden stair, white railings. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8718" align="alignnone" width="1112"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten Pool rammed concrete. Image courtesy of rundzwei Architekten. Photo: Gui Rebelo[/caption]  

Project Details

Project Team rundzwei Architekten Luca Di Carlo Ana Domenti Marc Dufour-Feronce Andreas Reeg Contractors / Products Cork facade by Johannsen Timber Constructions (Product: Ziro GmbH / Amorin S.A.) Windows by Timm Fensterbau GmbH (Product: Schüco and Alco) Timber Stair by Johannsen Timber Constructions (Product: Storaenso) Pool by Seeigel GmbH Rammed concrete by Caerus Construction   [caption id="attachment_8721" align="alignnone" width="2000"]Cork Screw House by rundzwei Architekten rundzwei Architekten - Berlin - Marc-Dufour & Feronce Andreas-Reeg. Photo: Waldemar-Brzezinski[/caption]   About rundzwei Architekten rundzwei is a contemporary architectural office founded by the two (germ. zwei) principals Andreas Reeg and (germ. und) Marc Dufour-Feronce. rundzwei considers research and (und) design as two (zwei) central components of a sustainable and contemporary architectural process, which combines space planning, materiality, resources, local history and environmental understanding within a sophisticated design approach. Before founding rundzwei Marc Dufour-Feronce and Andreas Reeg held leading positions working for international renowned offices including Herzog & de Meuron, LAB architecture studio and ACME in Switzerland, the UK and the UAE. Their project experience includes masterplans, housing towers, museums and exhibition spaces, shopping centres and residential units. Contact rundzwei Architekten Reeg & Dufour PartGmbB Andreas Reeg und Marc Dufour-Feronce Goethestrasse 2-3 DE-10623 Berlin Germany +49 30 202 376 45 info@rundzwei.de www.rundzwei.de