Ian Shaw Architekten completes concrete villa on a German mountainside
A grey slate terrace that extends from the back of this mountainside property by Frankfurt studio Ian Shaw Architekten juts over the valley below (+ slideshow).
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_SQ021.jpg)
Ian Shaw Architekten set the two-storey house, named Villa S, into a slope above the town of Schriesheim in Baden-Württemberg, south-west Germany.
The balcony positioned to the rear of the building takes advantage of views of the Black Forest, Rhine Valley and the ruins of a nearby castle, while the lower storey containing four bedrooms is sunken into the hillside. "The pavilion-like configuration engages with the landscape and the elements," said Shaw.
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
Villa S has a white cast in-situ concrete shell with "a massing composition that generates a strong sense of place and dwelling, rooting the villa in its topography."
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
"The base section is articulated as a heavy concrete cuboid, embedded in the landscape – an extension of the earth, almost," said the architect, whose previous projects include a German lake-house with one side open to the water.
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
By the entrance to the property, an overhanging roof has a large opening in the centre that lets daylight through the heavy structure. The remaining sections of concrete protect a strip of ground leading up to the wooden front door. "A seemingly gravity defying rectangular aperture, emphatically defines the main entranceway," said the architect.
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
Small angular spotlights with aluminium surrounds are set into the underside of the concrete structure and light the porch at night, aiming to compliment the building's "pared-back aesthetic."
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
A section of glazing with a timber surround is set into the wall of the upper storey above an external stairwell that leads to the ground floor. It gives a view through the living area and out of a large glazed wall on the other side of the house.
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
The front door leads into the open-plan living space on the upper level surrounded on three sides by sections of timber-framed glazing. To the rear of the area, a set of sliding doors in the glass walls open onto the terrace that is overhung by a 2.6-metre section of the white concrete roof.
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
The slate floor of the interior space continues through the sliding glass doors onto the balcony. "The sliding glass doors and the Brazilian slate tiling used inside and out deliver a seamless connectivity between the living room and terrace," said the architect.
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
By the entrance, a flight of internal stairs connects to a set of lower-storey rooms embedded into the side of the mountain. Two south-facing bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms are "cocooned" in the lower block beneath the terrace.
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
The rooms have floor-to-ceiling glass walls that face out onto a patch of greenery and a set of white stepping-stones that provide a route down the hillside.
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
To the front of the space, off a central hallway with smooth grey walls, there are two additional bedrooms, a utility room, a bathroom and storage space.
![Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_1c](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_1c.gif)
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_2.gif)
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_5.gif)
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_3.gif)
![Villa S by Ian Shaw Architekten](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Villa-S-by-Ian-Shaw-Architekten_dezeen_4.gif)