Courtyard building Brunnenstrasse, Berlin

The three-storey detached house is located in a back yard near Rosenthaler Platz. Coming through the gate, you will find yourself between old multi-storey buildings that make you forget the noise and hustle and bustle of the city.

The house was built in wood with beamed ceilings. Due to the fire protection requirements, the outer walls adjacent to the existing buildings are designed as massive fire walls. Due to the difficult access, caused by the narrow access to the back yard, the wooden stud walls were created and installed on site. The multi-inclined outer walls, which required a special construction, act as a structural feature and character-forming element.

Inside, the wooden construction is hidden under plaster and painting fleece. Together with the wall-fitting door frames it creates a homogeneous wall picture. In the outdoor area, a synthetic resin mineral plaster on wood fiber insulation boards connects the inclined levels to a flowing and equally uniform outer skin. In order to achieve an even more efficient energy standard, the gaps in the wall construction were compacted with highly insulating cellulose.

The historic cellar, which was only discovered during the earthworks, was quickly integrated into the existing planning and now adds useful additional areas to the building. In addition to storage areas, the building technology was housed here. Both hot water and the underfloor heating are operated with natural gas and additionally supported by the use of a heat pump for heat recovery from the room air. Thanks to the use of capillary underfloor heating, the screed was only 5 cm high.

While the five bedrooms and two bathrooms and two toilets are arranged in a space-saving manner on the ground and second floors, living, cooking, eating and working take place on the first floor. The various areas are open and flow into one another. Only the open staircase arranged in the center with steps made of solid oak and filigree railing, as well as different height levels, structure the room. In this way, visual references remain, the room appears spacious and the floor is preserved as a unit. In addition, the ceiling, which is over three meters high, and the continuous window hinge with ceiling-high glazing make the room appear even more open and free.
This impression is also supported by filigree steel supports placed in front of the window division, which allow an otherwise support-free space. Walk-in skylights in the terrace and entrance area bring additional natural lighting into the house and create unusual visual references.