Page 136 - AIT0316_E-Paper

WOHNEN • LIVING TECHNISCHER AUSBAU • TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

T he clients are good friends. We thus broke the iron rule for architects not to work
for good friends. And also the golden rule never to plan for a lawyer was broken
by us. In this case, however, the confidence invested by all the participants was so
strong – we have known each other for years, are friends and spend our holidays toget-
her – that we felt we could ignore all those golden rules of our profession. The actual
task was to make better use of the upper level of an attractive and cosy double-pitched
roof building. The view of the city is fantastic from here. But it had never been possible
to really enjoy this view from the existing dormers. The house was also to be brought
up to current standards as to technology and energy consumption. After some conside-
rations and sketches, it soon became clear that it would not do to complement this
house in its original style but that we should “land” something completely alien and
unusual on top of the ground level. The result was a glazed box, quite simple in its form,
which, slightly shifted, was to rest on the existing building. It had also been the family’s
wish to plan on the roof a spacious terrace allowing an unobstructed view of Stuttgart.

Farbige Möbel setzen in den dunkel gestalteten Bädern Kontraste. • Colourful furniture adds contrasts Difficult building site and strict development plans
Die Dachterrasse bietet einen ungestörten Ausblick auf die Stadt. • The roof terrace offers an view of the city.
We thus began to work on this solution. Effi Schneider, the project architect, excellently
tackled this task. After consulting the approval authorities, however, we quickly found
out that not everything is as easy in Stuttgart as one might wish it to be. The location
halfway up the hillside in Stuttgart is sensitive, the development plans are strict and the
leeway – except as a commercial developer – is relatively small. We nonetheless succee-
ded in largely implementing and carrying through the original idea. There were only
some static restrictions since the building site is not very stable. Thus the specification
was that the extension on the roof could only be slightly heavier than the former dou-
ble-pitched roof. That was why we decided in favour of a prefabricated wood constructi-
on which was to rest on the ground floor slightly shifted to the side. Furthermore, ins-
tead of the existing gas heating, a geothermal system was requested which was to sup-
port the heating capacity of the existing gas system and, in the ideal case, compensate
it and, during summer, ensure the necessary pleasant temperatures for the upper and
lower level by free cooling. Beside the geothermal system explained above, attention
was everywhere paid to using modern technologies. On the roof of the porch, a solar
system was thus installed and LED lighting was used in the whole house. The ground
floor was cautiously converted but largely conserved in its segmentation. During the
construction process, this made specific protection measures necessary since the ceiling
above the ground floor had to be removed and replaced with a wooden ceiling. Below
1 Eingang • Entrance
2 Garderobe • Cloakroom this wooden ceiling, a heating- and cooling ceiling was then suspended. A heating- and
3 WC • WC
4 Küche • Kitchen cooling floor as well as a suspended heating- and cooling ceiling were installed on the
5 Abstellraum • Storeroom upper level. As solar protection, we chose a rollable chain-mail fabric which still allows
6 Wohnzimmer • Living room
7 Essbereich • Dining area a view outside but ensures the necessary protection from insolation. To be drawn during
8 Terrasse • Terrace
the night, when the view is more from the outside in, generous curtains are fitted here.
An office and a bedroom were planned for the upper level. From here, an exterior stair-
case leads up to the roof terrace which, in its shape, does not align with the level below
it but is designed as a free form.

From the sketch on a paper napkin to reality
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan
For us as architect, this building is one of the few examples of how agreement on the
concept was reached very quickly at the start of the discussion with the clients. It was
1 Zimmer • Room
2 Badezimmer • Bathroom almost something like the famous “paper napkin sketch” which never exists in reality!
3 Ankleide • Dressing
4 Lounge • Lounge And from then on, apart from the hurdle regarding the permission, we were able to go
5 Arbeitszimmer • Study straight ahead with the planning and implement the project. We like being in the house
6 Bücherecke • Books corner
to visit our friends and enjoy the view. It also seems to be well accepted by the family.
Apart from the usual technical problems during the first years, they appear to be con-
tent. The different look of the existing fabric on the ground- and lower level and the new
situation on the upper level has a strong appeal. The attempt not to form a unit but rat-
Grundriss Obergeschoss • Upper floor plan her working out the differences between the old and the new was a success. Resisting
the temptation of bringing everything in line, of coordinating the old and the new with
its respective geometry down to the millimetre, turned out to be right. What is old is
old, it is heavy, it is made of stone – and what is new is a light wood-glass box resting
slightly shifted to the side on the existing building. Without really fitting exactly and
having freed itself from the rest. We are most grateful to the clients for the good coope-
ration. No middlemen, no project controller was called in and the planning team was
reduced to what was necessary. Everything was directly coordinated with those who, in
Konzeptskizze • Concept sketch the end, have to live with the result. And we still spend our holidays together.

136 • AIT 3.2016