BRUMM

Nate Cook

• Architects

The single-family home model of living and lifestyle does not enjoy the best reputation in current architectural discourse, and rightly so, as it involves a relatively large amount of land sealing and (excessive) energy and material consumption. New and innovative thinking is therefore needed to meet the requirements of sustainable construction: extending, adding to, and building on existing structures wherever possible is an effective measure. This roof extension to a single-family home by STUDIO LOES shows how this can work even in historic urban contexts with extremely limited planning options.

The property — a detached single-family home from the early 20th century with two full stories, a flat roof, and a garden — is located in the former villa colony in the southwestern Berlin district of Dahlem. With the growth of the owner family, the desire for more space arises. Instead of demolition and new construction, the clients opt for redensification of the existing building. They plan an extension above the roof. The challenge: the old roof cannot simply be “built over”; it would involve an enormous effort in terms of building regulations and construction technology. Only a radical solution remains: under a temporary weather roof, the existing roof structure is carefully dismantled and replaced with a completely new one – like open-skull surgery. The historical context requires particularly careful intervention – both in terms of construction, materials and architecture.

„The client really wanted “a new house.” But it was also important to us that the fragments of the past didn't completely disappear. In this respect, we spent a long time discussing what the house should look like after the intervention and what language the details should speak. Eventually, we found that the contrast to the existing structure, but also the difference between the wall and the roof, was a decisive piece in telling the story of the house architecturally and creatively in such a way that the traces of the past remain legible to the observer.“ Onur Özdemir, STUDIO LOES

The new folded roof is characterized by large dormers and an expansive window front on the garden side. Due to the central positioning of the dormers, the roof edges remain visible and are thus cleverly integrated into the geometry of the house. In addition, the vertically structured sheet metal panels respond harmoniously to the existing building. They calm the radical design intervention and cleverly combine old and new. A special detail is the interface between the roof and the facade. Normally, the eaves are located much higher on the house, with the wall extending below the roof. By demolishing the existing ceiling, the rain gutter was elegantly incorporated into the eaves. The new eaves wrap sculpturally around the existing buildings volume. The architects also took on the interior design of the attic: three light-flooded dormer rooms with a high quality of living – two children's rooms, a study, and a bathroom – are located on approximately 160 newly created square meters. In addition to the roof extension, a wooden and glass extension on the garden side adds another 25 square meters to the total living space.

With BRÜMM, STUDIO LOES once again demonstrate that a thorough examination of existing structures can lead to creative design solutions for today's construction challenges. The project can serve as a blueprint for rethinking and reimagining the single-family home — even, or especially, in historic urban contexts. What is needed is the courage to make radical interventions while treating existing structures with sensitivity and creative intelligence.

Like all of the architects' designs, BRÜMM is consistently based on the “leftovers” approach—a working philosophy developed by STUDIO LOES. "For us, 'Leftovers' are spatial 'remnants' associated with a design effort. This encompasses more than just the existing building in material terms. It also contains structural factors like abandoned initiatives, the history of the object, and typologies from previous eras. Taking these 'leftovers' seriously, collecting and utilising them is critical to our work. Only in this manner, a structure can be grounded in its organisational, historical, and spatial context, its life extended, and the users' appreciation ensured."