Function & Form
Villa, Frankfurt am Main

With the project “Function & Form,” Felix Schwake developed a high-tech working environment for a private villa in Frankfurt am Main in which technical complexity was fully integrated into a calm and minimalist architectural setting.

In close collaboration with the client, an IT specialist based in Frankfurt am Main, a custom-tailored solution was created for two fully equipped workstations within a single sculptural piece of furniture. The starting point of the design process was the question of how extensive technical requirements could be combined with a consistently calm spatial atmosphere and the unobstructed view across the Frankfurt skyline.

The design follows a central principle within the work of Felix Schwake: technology should remain available without dominating the space. Architecture and interior design are understood as a background for living — not as a permanent visual staging of technical devices.

The two generously proportioned workstations fully integrate electrically extendable computer platforms within the table structures. At the touch of a button, the high-performance computers emerge from the table bases and disappear just as invisibly back into the furniture. As a result, all technical equipment remains completely concealed when not in use.

Beneath the extendable work surfaces upholstered in black nubuck leather are integrated storage areas, cable channels, and media connections for power, networking, and additional technical interfaces. The actual tabletop remains free from visible technical devices and thereby supports the spatial clarity of the interior.

Particular attention was given to the technical functionality within the furniture itself. The developed cooling system operates according to the chimney principle: cool air is drawn in near the floor through the base area, while the heat generated by the computers rises through the construction and is extracted above the table bases through concealed openings. This allows the computers to operate quietly without requiring additional visible ventilation systems or technical installations within the room.

The project exemplifies Felix Schwake’s approach of not displaying technical functionality visibly, but fully integrating it into a reduced architectural order. Function and form are not understood as opposites, but as a precisely coordinated unity.

The project was realized in collaboration with RECHTECK / Raummischung.