Berlin, Germany
Led by Andreas Reeg and Marc Dufour-Feronce and their design team at Rundzwei Architekten, this project is the rehabilitation of an existing post-War building reborn as a new apartment complex.
On the corner plot in the up-and-coming Moabit / Tiergarten residential area of Berlin, a vacant lot remained free after the post-war building was completed.
The new building fills this vacant lot and “grows” on the upper floors over the 1950s building.
In order to optimize the usable area of the vacant lot, the facade arches into the street space and the stairwell slides into the courtyard as an external access.
The light steel construction of the access extends over the entire courtyard facade and offers all apartments (new and existing) south-facing balconies.
Inside, the building geometry creates exciting floor plans for 15 rental apartments between 50 – 120m².
A living, dining and kitchen area tries to connect the north with the south facade and thus enable generous views
Working rooms can be added through sliding doors and increase the loft-like feeling of space. 6 maisonette apartments are being built on the two attic levels.
Here the cooking, dining and living areas have double the room height and are completely oriented towards the south facade. All apartments have a utility room and bathrooms directly adjoining the bedroom.
The symmetrical and strictly grid-laid street facade is covered with an almost flush outer skin made of corrugated aluminum sheet.
It runs as a natural, flowing shape over the recessed entrance area on the ground floor and the elegant bay window above it.
All windows facing the street can be closed with folding shutters.
The aluminum sheet on the outside is perforated so that daylight falls through the window even when it is closed and the view outside is still possible.
To the south, “The Iceberg” shows a completely different face: An open scaffolding structure supports and encloses the staircase core and elevator pushed into the courtyard as well as the elongated balconies in front of all apartments.
In winter, the sun penetrates the rooms through floor-to-ceiling windows; in summer, the continuous balcony areas protect against too much sunlight without impairing the view of the bright inner courtyard with its old trees.
In the attic, the extensive green roof ensures a cooling effect during the hot months of the year.
Marc Dufour-Feronce and Andreas Reeg attach great importance to simple, locally produced and at the same time functional materials: instead of glass, the balcony balustrades and flights of stairs were secured with simple stainless steel nets, the elevator was provided with expanded metal cladding and painted a bright golden yellow.
Instead of elaborate floor coverings, the Berlin architects opted for exposed screed floors in all apartments. The planners also left the wooden ceilings made of spruce wood unclad, only white oiled.
Perfectly coordinated with the floor-to-ceiling wood-aluminum windows on the courtyard side and the wooden “seating windows” on the street side.
With the exception of the screed and plastered surfaces, all building materials in the house are only mechanically fastened, in order to facilitate water recycling.
Ideally, environmental friendliness and economic efficiency can be combined as optimally as with the corrugated aluminum sheet of the white north facade:
It is inexpensive, has a high proportion of recycling and can be 100% recycled.
Project: The Iceberg
Architects: Rundzwei Architekten Reeg&Dufour Part GmbB
Design Team: Luca Di Carlo, Marc Dufour-Feronce, Johann Göhler, Miriam Lopez, Andreas Reeg, and Mathias Rühl
Client: Private
Photographers: Gui Rebelo elephant studio architecture photography
