Finally constructed in 1999 through my father's and grandfather's handicraft together with local planners, workers and friends, AdR 31 has been the result of an ongoing dream to settle down in a rural environment between the French countryside and the German vineyards along the rivers Moselle and Saar in the southwest of the country. The house was built to host a five-headed family under one roof in the middle of a humble garden for recreation, storage and social events along a typically calm road within a picturesque village, where the range of artistic experimentation is reasonably limited and the exterior appearance underlies a system of hereditary rules and paradigms. Since the architectural challenge lied in the respectful adaptation to its immediate context, the sole opportunity to express individual characteristics was to create situative anomalies during the process of making the new home: a functional (and intimate) passage between the house and the garage for direct access from the car to the terrace, a topographic (and visual) slope in the yard for a smooth transition from the garden to the fireplace and a pragmatic (and provisional) staircase in the back for an independent conjunction to the basement of the building.

The patio at the corner between the kitchen and the living room are intended to allow for a fairly panoramic view on the surrounding landscape with its forests, mountains and power poles, while the everyday occupation can take place in an utmost private way, from mowing the lawn to cutting wood for the chimney. The projecting alcoves of the dining room enable the children's rooms to host an own balcony overlooking the opposite street which purposely functions as the only orientation to the rather anonymous side of the house. As for the internal organisation of the space, the entering corridor manages to serve all adjacent facilities, stairs and visual connections from one level to another before opening up into the generous living room above the garden.

AdR 31, as shown here, was drawn and photographed as an emotional and timeless acknowledgement to my parents in celebration of their wedding anniversary and the love spent for, around and inside the house.