Wohnen in der Gärtnerei: Monika & Thomas bauen ein Haus im Glashaus | ARD Room Tour

For 30 years, Monika and Thomas have been living and working in the greenhouse of their nursery. Their unique “house-in-a-greenhouse” concept provides them with a special indoor climate and, above all, an extremely short commute. For the couple, their home is therefore a real prize. After German reunification, Thomas, a mechanical engineer by training, embarked on the adventure of a lifetime: He founded a horticultural business just outside Dresden, in the small village of Medingen. 800 marks in start-up capital for the nursery had to be enough to turn his hobby into a career. And it worked! In 1995, Thomas came up with the idea of combining work and living under a glass roof, because short distances are essential for a gardener. To achieve this, a “living cube” was integrated into the classic industrial greenhouse, which spans 1,000 square meters; its ceiling also serves as retail space. After a brief planning and construction phase, the family was able to move in just a year and a half later. Even the entrance to the private living area in the glass house is more than unusual. That’s because there’s no traditional front door with a doorbell in the greenhouse. Only a “Private” sign separates the nursery’s public area from the living space. Here on their glass-enclosed terrace, Monika and Thomas can enjoy the unique features of their glass home in every season: bathed in light, yet sheltered from wind and weather. In keeping with the greenhouse and nursery setting, the couple has also planted trees here. Under the glass roof, Mediterranean plants and grapevines thrive. Selected design objects further emphasize the bright, airy character. Thomas likes to let his creativity run wild and builds lamps and light fixtures. For instance, the terrace is adorned with a floor lamp whose base he crafted from the trunk of a lilac tree. But the couple’s terrace isn’t exactly private. Visitors to the nursery can sometimes catch a glimpse of the coffee table from above. That doesn’t bother Monika and Thomas, because they live and love their concept of transparency and openness in the greenhouse. Accordingly, they’ve also gotten used to customers occasionally wandering into their open living and kitchen area. Monika and Thomas have kept the interior of their “living cube” minimalist. The rustic brick wall in the living area is made up of nearly 16,000 historic bricks left over from the demolition of old Dresden barracks. With the help of family and friends, Monika and Thomas handled every single brick, stripped it of plaster, and then installed it. A great deal of their own labor also went into the rest of the glasshouse extension. The kitchen was designed to blend comfortably into the living space without a backsplash, and without wall cabinets or prominent kitchen appliances. The solution: a pantry. Here, everything that shouldn’t be left out in the open finds a cool, dark place to be stored. Monika has set up her home office in one of the former children’s rooms. She comes from a completely different professional background and has only been fully involved in the nursery for a few years. From here, as from every room in the house, she can reach the greenhouse’s business premises in just three steps. That is the concept and the idea behind life in the glasshouse. Thomas can only estimate how much glass was actually used in his greenhouse, but he figures it amounts to about 3,000 square meters of glass surface area. In an industrial greenhouse for plant production—because that’s exactly what the two men’s greenhouse is—precise climate control is essential. Shading across the entire roof surface and ventilation flaps keep the greenhouse cool. On the outside, cleaning is mainly handled by the rain, which, according to the owners, works surprisingly well. Inside, the two are assisted by a small window-cleaning robot. Birds are rarely harmed, likely thanks to the many trees and the foot traffic. And in 30 years, not a single pane of glass has been broken. A film by Britta Bibiko (Editor), Dirk Meinhardt (Camera), Daniel Fischer (Sound), and Julia Lodahl (Editing). Produced by MDR. 00:00 Living in a Greenhouse 02:04 Living Area 03:19 Kitchen with Pantry 07:19 Bathroom 08:48 Multifunctional Bedroom 10:04 Study and Guest Room 11:39 Outdoor Area 13:10 Private Garden