丨德国丨Daniela Hake等五人团队

Gartenstraße

Einfamilienhaus Wuppertal

2024

The house on Gartenstrasse had been neglected for years. When we found it, it felt like a lost place in a kind of jungle in the middle of the city. But it was very charming and demolition was out of the question. So we preserved the good, highlighted the special and enhanced the unusual, carefully transforming the house into a collection of interesting rooms and special moments.

An unfinished whole

On renovation

The house challenged us. Trained architects as we are, we normally try to achieve the most refined design and detailing possible. However, this house needed more of an “adhoc” approach. And it demanded the acceptance – if not the celebration – of friction and disruptions. Seeking a balance between refinement and unfinishedness became an important attitude for this project.

So we didn’t even go for a ‘total makeover’, but rather a minimally invasive approach. Most of the work was renovation. But whenever there was an opportunity to develop one of the building’s very specific architectural gestures, we took the chance to amplify what we found beyond mere usability.

The house taught us valuable lessons and – since we inhabit it – we have to live with the consequences. Most of those consequences are enjoayble.

Date

2021 -2022

Place

Wuppertal

Client

ourselves

Status

refurbished

Team

Daniela Hake

Holger Hoffmann

Richard Haverland

Annika Porschen

Charlotte Walter

Photos

Marie Kreibich