weberbrunner architekten

Description

A family wants to experiment with new ways of living. They want to live in an urban but neighbourly environment with communal spaces. The family finds a 150-square-metre industrial loft, 25 metres deep and six metres wide. Is it possible for seven people to live in such a small space in a deliberately self-sufficient way? How can this exciting space be made to serve the needs of one family? The condensed, stacked living arrangements and proportion of daylight in the loft define the design to a much greater extent than any focus on surfaces or materials. This commission provided a welcome opportunity to develop a specifically sustainable type of housing for communal living. This resulted in a concept based on an overlapping use of space. There are two rooms with very high ceilings that benefit from direct sunlight. Facing eastwards are areas for hobbies such as music-making, crafting, sewing and gaming. The kitchen, which features a large dining table, and the loggia are west-facing. There is an additional, piazza-like communal area inside. It functions as a shared space for screenings and communal movie nights, and is surrounded by windows high up on the walls. Located between these two areas are the convent-like cells of the family members for sleeping, reading or privacy. The result is a family home with great social sustainability, in which the inhabitants can live together and share their lives in a pioneering, space-saving and cost-effective way.