As a designer, I often think it’s good when you break new ground in order to develop further.
Preserve the old, discover the new and make something out of the existing material with creativity. that was the idea of turning an old house into a new one that can accommodate 8 parties. Do something, the implementation is more than the design alone. The design world of a designer is often a surreal world, one of many drafts finds its way into production. After many years, I was tempted to step into the hard, real, fast world and try something down-to-earth.
Out of inner conviction I started converting an old house into an apartment house. To steer my creativity in new directions, so to speak. The nice thing about it is that everything is so real, every brick is set and I had the chance to put my ideas directly into reality with my hands for the first time. Normally there is always the design and manufacturing process in between, which was omitted in this project.
Facts:
Distribution: 1 apartment, 4 studio apartments and 3 double rooms
Completely new concept: all are in the green, each has its own terrace that extends the interior, its own entrance. All are, so to speak, in the countryside. Generous design, long-term thinking.
All share a heater, hot water once, a reason. Instead of a family, the house can be rented to 20 people at the same time as a family! A huge advantage, both economically and ecologically. Every room is different, has a different layout.
I was able to use my experience and creativity to turn an old house into an apartment building with 3 rooms, 4 apartments and a loft.
The intention was to work with the existing, given material and to create something completely new and beautiful. That reminded me a lot of my student days, where we had to make furniture etc. out of existing materials and made the best of it.
I am very grateful to have had the experience of dirty hands, of artisan life, as a designer. I think this takes me one step further.
The house was completely gutted, redivided and designed.
The ground floor was renovated, the floors were raised to the same level, new large windows were installed and more light was let in. The original basement was completely dug up, 3 atriums let in so much light that it can be fully used. Ground space was used in this way.
It is also a nice project from an ecological point of view, since the floor area of the apartments has been doubled in square meters with the same square meters of land. The house was further insulated and thus corresponds to the latest ecological specifications.
Since we made something new out of something old and we will live in a part of the house in the future, a small dream has come true for me and my wife.