In the Kleinmachnow community near Berlin, there is a timber-decorated house whose form is reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s. Its design was carried out by the American architect Ray Kappe. The house was built for Lars Triesch, designer and founder of the furniture company Original in Berlin.
In the shade of spruce and beech trees, just a few minutes from the borders of Berlin, in Kleinmachnow, an architectural gem inspired by the spirit of Southern Californian modernism was created. This residence, designed by the eminent American architect Ray Kappe, combines the open, luminous space characteristic of his Californian creations with the austere German greenery of the surrounding landscape. The concept and investor is Lars Triesch, for whom the house has become the embodiment of a passion for timeless design and a tribute to Kappe’s work.
From the moment you cross the threshold, your attention is drawn to the large glass windows, which reveal the depth of the garden while letting in soft light. The spacious living room with its overhanging terrace blends seamlessly with the high, open kitchen, where natural materials – cedar wood and stone – meet the minimalist detail of the steel window frames. In the design, Kappe reconciled the idea of functionality with organic aesthetics, so that every corner of the house serves the home’s occupants while delighting in the simplicity of form.
Triesch’s passion for architecture developed during his teenage years, when music was his first bridge between different cultures and styles. It was through the documentary film Coast Modern that he discovered the achievements of the Southern California school of architecture and, above all, the figure of Ray Kappe. Although Kappe passed away in 2019, his spirit of experimentation and commitment to sustainable construction are preserved in every detail of this villa. Thanks to the shared vision of the developer and the master, Kappe’s first house outside the United States was created.
Ray Kappe: champion of modernism and educator
Ray Kappe was born on 4 August 1927 in Minneapolis as the son of Romanian immigrants. After serving briefly in the US Army’s Urbanyi Engineering Corps, with a degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley (1951), he embarked on a career that made him one of the most progressive voices in American modernism. His early designs were based on post-and-beam construction, allowing for open, flexible interiors, and lightweight walls of wood and glass instead of heavy masonry.
In 1972, Kappe inaugurated the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), resigning his position as dean at Cal Poly Pomona to create one of the world’s premier schools of architecture with a group of faculty and students. He was the recipient of prestigious awards such as the Richard Neutra International Medal for Design Excellence and the Bernard Maybeck Award for Design Excellence from the American Institute of Architects in California. His interest in prefabrication technologies and sustainable construction led to a collaboration with LivingHomes, where he designed modular housing as early as 2003, anticipating trends that are now considered the standard for green architecture.
Kappe left behind an archive at the Getty Research Institute, filled with drawings, models and notes, documenting nearly seven decades of work. His home in Pacific Palisades, completed in 1967, is still regarded as a masterpiece of late modernism, integrating structures with landscape and sensitivity to site specificity.
The unique development in Kleinmachnow is not only an architectural manifesto, but also a testament to how timeless ideas can cross continental boundaries. In the openness of space, fidelity of detail and respect for nature lies the universal value of modernism.
design: Ray Kappe
photography: Jürgen Nogai
source: v2com
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