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WOHNEN • LIVING TECHNISCHER AUSBAU • TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

Foto: Nils Oehler; Modersohn & Freiesleben Architekten

Betonung der Holzkonstruktion: Pfosten, Balken, Pfetten und Kehlsparren erhielten eine blaue Lasur als farbliche Akzentuierung. • Emphasizing the timber structure: posts, beams, purlins, and hip rafters were highlighted with a blue glaze. Foto: Sebastian Schels

R estoring a war-damaged roof on a grand corner building to provide new housing terraces were planned. However, a special regulation in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
space is a rare task in today’s Berlin. The corner building has stood here for over
only permits recessed terraces, where the roofline continues beneath the balustrade.
130 years, as have some of its neighbouring structures. It is almost perfectly symme- We were able to slightly modify the roof shape: a gently sloping, standing-seam metal
trical over five storeys: a central, slightly elevated entrance at the corner of Ludwig- roof extends from the ridge, creating functional spaces with minimal sloped ceilings
kirchstrasse and Pfalzburger Strasse is framed by an ornate wrought-iron door. The and large glass doors leading to the terraces.
façade was in relatively good condition, but its pale, greyed-out purple hue appeared
strangely cold and out of place. We restored its original sandstone-like simplicity. Fire safety, soundproofing, heritage protection – a tight framework
A grand marble staircase leads to the first floor, from where two large apartments
are accessed. The roof, which had been struck by a bomb during the war, was half- Fire safety regulations permitted only two generously sized apartments – made pos-
destroyed. In the 1950s, it was rebuilt as a flat roof using hollow-core concrete slabs sible by the two existing former backstairs. The large trees in front of the building
and sealed in a makeshift manner – a lasting temporary solution without insulation, prevented the use of aerial ladders in case of emergencies, meaning all escape routes
yet the apartments beneath it continued to be rented. The structural condition of this had to be integrated into the existing staircases. This required extending the main
makeshift roof was documented in the city’s building records, which facilitated plan- central staircase by a full flight. The two secondary staircases were also adjusted by
ning. The other half of the roof was severely dilapidated and identified in a survey a few steps to compensate for level differences caused by the new floor structure in
as contaminated with hazardous materials. The original corner turrets had vanished, the apartments. The original floors varied significantly between the surviving timber
their presence only faintly hinted at in the bay windows below. The design phase was structures and the temporary post-war reconstruction. In the bomb-damaged sec-
carried out in close collaboration with heritage authorities, urban planners, and the tion, the previous floor slabs had been replaced in the early 1950s with hollow-core
building supervision office. The restoration was welcomed, with particular emphasis concrete slabs that were not designed to bear residential loads. To meet structural,
on reinstating the corner’s prominence and precisely aligning the new roof’s height fire safety, and soundproofing requirements, both the timber beam slabs and the
with that of the neighbouring buildings. Dormer windows were necessary to provide hollow-core concrete slabs had to be reinforced with steel profiles. Contaminated
sufficient daylight for the new living spaces, and their size and design were carefully sealants were removed, along with the underlying slag concrete and parts of the coke
coordinated with the proportions of the façade below. On the courtyard side, roof ash fill. The new steel beams were decoupled and supported on the existing masonry

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