This spacious apartment is located under the roof of a typical “Altbau” building from the early 20th century in the Berlin district of Steglitz. The original attic has been converted into a flat already in the 1980’s, before the Wall came down, at a time where there was little monitoring in building restrictions in West-Berlin. The new renovation includes therefore the remodelling of existing volumes, a redefinition of the general distribution, and the creation of a kitchen as the central nucleus of family life, as well as the modernization of the fireplace, an emblematic element of the house.
The U-shaped plan offers a key space in its centre: the former laundry room that was closed to the living room becomes a large open kitchen combined with the fireplace. The existing parquet flooring is preserved and combined with graphical elements that compensate the material technical constraints associated with the chimney: these added cement tiles on the existing floor sign the kitchen/chimney connection. White tones, light wood, copper details, as well as a minimalist worktop and chimney are combined into a sculptural block.