Description

The 900 m² site, a pair of plots at Schönholzer Straße 15/16, lies directly on the former wall strip. The recently completed new building comprises a variety of different kinds of living spaces (a flat-share, short-term accommodation as well as an apartment for the clients when they retire) as well as an event space that can be used as a theatre. The building is neither a classical client-led nor a typical investment project; instead, the clients developed it with the architects in an open design process. To accommodate the different uses, a scaffold-framework was devised: two stairwells divide the central part of the building from “pockets” on either side that contain smaller 80 m² maisonettes. The central segment, which can be reached from both staircases, houses various functions stacked above one another: the two-storey cluster apartment on the top floor is designed as a shared apartment, in which the owners also have a room. Stairs lead down from the shared kitchen to a floor with bedrooms and study rooms with separate bathrooms, which are rented out on a short-term basis. Beneath it are two large private apartments. At the heart of the complex is a 5.50-metre-high event room on the ground floor, which opens onto the courtyard and has a large ‘storefront’ facing the street. It serves not just as a common room, but also as a fully equipped theatre with professional staging facilities, accessible from Schönholzer Straße via a foyer at ground level. Sanitary facilities, changing rooms and a canteen complement the space. To minimise its impact on the residents, the third floor contains overnight accommodation modelled on Japanese Ryokans: small rooms, a communal kitchen and two bathrooms.

The fair-faced concrete façade is structured by an irregular pattern of large horizontal openings, behind which a loggia runs the length of the building. External curtains allow the residents to screen off the openings. One sees no window mullions, no natural stone, no legible indication of the two original plots save for the tall entrances at the left and right. Otherwise, the building follows the street frontage and eaves lines of its neighbours.

The house was designed to make economical use of resources. The building services employ geothermal energy from 99 bored piles in the garden and include a combined heat and power unit and a grey water recycling system. Underground parking was omitted in favour of a bicycle cellar reached via a spacious elevator. The quality of the building services and the architecture reflects the clients’ conviction that these are a worthwhile long-term investment. The stairwells are naturally illuminated and open onto the loggias. The corridors, the doors and the projecting terraces on the north side are all of slightly higher quality than usual. The floor-to-ceiling glazing, often a problem in narrow streets, is shielded by the 1.50-metre-deep loggias: the rooms feel open and spacious, but the residents don’t feel as if they are on show. The residents were, however, less convinced by the architects’ idea of sharing the loggias and separating screens of wire mesh (like those in the staircase) were later installed. In its architecture, the house draws inspiration from Japan (for example Shigeru Ban’s “Curtain Wall House”, 1995), but without making overt references.

Originally published in Bauwelt 06.2015, pp. 14-21, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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