For all those who are not familiar with the Hamburg real estate market: Finding such a beautiful city villa is like winning the lottery. That's what the Hamburg family thought when they bought the house built in the 1920s. The family had fallen in love with the small, hygge-like structure and atmosphere of the house, but were used to the comfort of a new, ultra-modern penthouse building. Our challenge was therefore obvious: to preserve the charm of the old but place it in a new context, create new space and integrate it harmoniously into the existing, open up structures and thus create a refuge for the residents in the middle of the city with high design standards.

The sensitive treatment of existing buildings is the most important challenge of our time in terms of climate protection, but also the architectural heritage of the cityscape. 

The street in which this property is located is considered a conservation area from the point of view of monument protection - therefore the appearance and effect of the streetscape must not be impaired by inappropriate new buildings and extensions. Our design approach was confirmed by the city's building commission: The structural alteration of the existing cubator interferes sensitively with the existing building culture. In contrast to the neighbouring buildings, which have a single-storey extension in the form of a cube, the extension we have realized blends in seamlessly with the existing historical buildings. The old spatial structures have been retained in the historic part facing the street. In the interior of the extension, the needs of the young family were taken into account in the redesign, with respectful reference to the existing building.