Still defined by its industrial heritage, the Ehrenfeld neighbourhood is home to the new four-group daycare centre "Kiku Traumbaum". To ensure the project would combine sustainability with architectural quality, Dagobert Immobilien from Schleiden initiated an expert review process for the site on Leyendeckerstraße, which includes historic structures. The Cologne-based architecture firm 3pass won the competition and designed a two-storey addition that respectfully incorporates the existing building and makes it the touchstone for the entire design.

The original structure—a modest brick building with a pitched roof—presents a completely closed façade and clean eaves to the street. Its bold materiality gives it an inherently sculptural quality that absolutely warranted preservation. The new daycare section integrates seamlessly, adopting the existing building's brick in matching colour, format, and bond pattern. Rather than compromising the original building's imposing presence, the new wing reads as a lower twin tower alongside its taller neighbour. The addition also replaces a boundary wall that once defined the property line—a remnant of the site's industrial past. This brick wall was carefully dismantled and reconstructed on-site: incorporated like salvaged material into the ground-floor façade, it preserves the wall's distinctive relief detailing. Generously scaled openings, crisply framed in light concrete, establish a new relationship to the surrounding area. Instead of turning inward, the façade engages openly with its context while a subtle ground-floor setback creates an inviting entrance. A second wing extends along the northern edge, its façade similarly animated by broad windows and ribbon glazing. This creates a sheltered courtyard that serves children of all ages with varied play zones. All group rooms face this outdoor space and connect via open corridors. The redesigned existing structure houses a spacious multipurpose hall, inclusive education facilities, and administrative offices. This thoughtful merger of old and new achieves something subtle yet powerful: it honours the site's heritage while quite literally building the future—because what is the future without room for children?

www.3pass.de

Photography Credits:

Constantin Meyer
www.constantin-meyer.de

(Published in CUBE Cologne Bonn 01|23)