Last year, Marbach made its architectural ascent in status when the city’s Museum of Modern Literature, designed by David Chipperfield to reconnect Germany’s literature once separated by the East/West divide, won the Sterling Prize – a most coveted architecture award. This year, perched on 6900 m2 of land atop a hill facing the museum, a private house responds with originality and thoughtful design, elevating the bar in the region.