There are lots of things that architects raw inspiration from, in order to create new buildings and designs. But a stealth bomber as an inspiration for a house? Combined with a summer cabin? Sounds impossible! But this is exactly what Meixner Schlüter Wendt Architekten had in mind when designing Haus F, at Kronberg im Taunus, near Frankfurt, Germany.

The only demand regarding the look of the house that the client made, was that it should look modern and have a flat roof. The local regulations stipulate that only saddle back roofs can be used in this area.  The architects told their clients that even this kind of roof can look modern. When they started the design process, it was the shape of the top level (the bedrooms), with its kink, that made the house look like a stealth bomber. So they decided to elaborate on that.

Since they had already decided on making the ground floor as transparent as possible, to unite the interior with the lush green exteriors, it was only a matter of time and ingenious design before the stealth bomber looking house had its final shape. And of course the structural considerations were a big part of the process. The cladding of the top part is black aluminium panels, chosen because they can be folded, creating a seam look that resembles that of an aircraft. And the glass wall of the ground level, with its hidden frame (in the floor and ceiling) even curves at two points without any mouldings.

Planes of course have movable parts. And so does this house! The overhang of the roof above the garden terrace (the "nose" of the aircraft) is adjustable by remote control (two segments of it) - to better provide shade when needed.  This element of the house was one of the things that delighted the client, who firmly demanded that the architects stuck with it when there were doubts raised about its necessity.

The interior is minimal and impressive, especially at ground level, with the huge sliding glass doors, making the space one with the exterior when opened. On the top level, the sleeping arrangement is what "created" the kink of the roof - there is the parents area and the kids area, separated by a corridor but also a change of level: the command centre of the aircraft!

Even the pool is not ordinary: it is fitted with led lights that make the water change colour - one can imagine the strange view of the "hovering" house/plane near the multicolour, light emitting liquid...