Extension to a settlement house from the 40s with renovation and reorganization of the existing building. In front of the existing building, a minimalist house volume with an identical cross-section was placed as an abstract interpretation of the existing building and separated from it by a glass joint.

On the ground floor, the extension serves to extend the previously cramped living spaces, which are connected to the new volume in a sequence of rooms via large openings. The triple glazing between the new and the old building, which follows the profile of the house, allows the light to penetrate into the depths of the building and affords structural intervention with sympathy for the existing building. On the upper floor, a spacious bedroom is planned in the roof of the new building, which is separated from the living space, at the joint, by glazing. A glass bridge connects the two 'houses' in the attic and thus opens up the bedroom from the old building. 

The façade of the side walls and the roof are clad with anthracite-coloured fibre cement panels. The drainage level is - according to the abstract approach - concealed under the fibre cement panels. The doors of the existing cellar exit and its lighting are also integrated into the cladding and can only be read through a grid of round holes in the façade panels. The gable façade is completely glazed and covered with a homogeneous screen of horizontally mounted, white powder-coated square hollow aluminium profiles. This screen serves to provide privacy, glare and sun protection as well as a visual closure to the room from the inside. The result is a graphic play of light and shadow in the interior that changes over the course of the day and according to the time of year.

In the space between the glass façade and the aluminium construction, a small balcony is integrated on the upper floor, in front of which a motor-controlled folding and lifting mechanism enables an abstract window opening. On the ground floor, the screen is divided into five sections, the middle three of which can be parked behind a folding section via rails. With these opening mechanisms it is possible to selectively open the façade as required, thus flexibly and playfully satisfying the need for openness, glare protection and permeability. The puristically austere façade thus becomes a living image of family life in everyday life.

Featured in the architectural tour ’Architektouren’ of the Bayerische Architektenkammer (Association of Bavarian Architects) 2012.