Muck Petzet Architekten

Description

The blocks of shared apartments in the student village in Schlachtensee, Berlin, were designed in the mid-1970s by the architects Kraemer, Pfennig and Sieverts (KPS). The project called for upgrading but above all modernising the groups of five-storey houses, still in their original state, within a very tight budget and time frame. Finding the most minimal interventions was therefore of vital importance. After discussing expansion horizontally and vertically, including the use of the roof areas, a design concept crystallised that focused strictly on preserving the essence of the communal houses while at the same time making them fit for use by future generations. The modernisation combines raising standards to meet today’s requirements with the continued use of many of the existing elements. Instead of replacing old components with new ones, all technical possibilities and cost factors were investigated in order to change as little as possible. The existing room layout with its cell structure – arranged around a common core – was preserved, as were the existing staircase and entrance doors. The plaster façade was merely painted. A careful calculation of the physical properties of the buildings made it possible to achieve a level of energy efficiency in line with the KfW funding criteria merely by renewing the windows and insulating the roof surfaces and basement ceilings.