raumstation Architekten

Description

It is a building with a deep and dark history. What was formerly perceived as cold and impersonal is today elegant and attractive, featuring light-coloured rendered walls and large new window openings. The surface air-raid shelter has retained its dominance over the much lower residential buildings in the neighbourhood. Even though the historic entrance was refurbished and cleaned, the weathered look of the stones has deliberately been preserved. The converted bunker was not intended to look like a smooth new build merely decorated with a few stylistic elements stemming from the original building. This is the approach that has been applied to the entire conversion. Traces of the past are visible on the walls and in the staircase and have thus become a characteristic feature of the refurbishment. A total area of 1,000 square metres incorporates a three-storey office unit with a floor area of approximately 210 square metres, three loft-like apartments, each 120 square metres, and a 400-square-metre penthouse apartment on the top three floors. Four three-and-a-half-metre-wide openings per storey, each facing a different direction, have been cut out of the exterior walls. These windows, or more appropriately loggias, allow daylight to flood into the interior space while creating cosy alcoves. Such features and atmosphere can only be found in buildings with this character. The most outstanding highlight of the penthouse unit is the new, slightly set-back and fully glazed top level.