Babelsberg hosts a distinguished villa colony renowned for its architectural diversity. Master architects—including Mies van der Rohe, Hermann Muthesius, and Alfred Grenander—have left their mark here, each employing the stylistic languages of their era to realize their clients' visions. Within this varied architectural landscape, Benjamin Ahrens of Baukonzept Potsdam, collaborating with L+B Lenzi Baglini Architetti of Florence, created an expansive villa designed to integrate seamlessly with its surroundings—yet without evoking historical pastiche. "Meeting this challenge required absolute clarity," explains Ahrens. "Architecture as uncompromising as possible."

Realizing this vision amid the constraints of local building codes proved challenging—but the architects succeeded. The villa's ground floor, supported by slender columns, achieves an almost weightless quality and maximum transparency, enabling an open floor plan and seamless flow between interior and exterior. Open living spaces orbit around two solid cores that define the cooking, dining, and living zones without conventional walls. The result is deliberately enigmatic: from any single vantage point, the full dimension of this continuous space cannot be grasped. Instead, movement through the home constantly reveals new spatial relationships.

The upper floors present a striking contrast: where the ground level appears to float, the first floor—divided into two sections—is substantially built. Guest rooms occupy the eastern street-facing side, while the private master suite with bath and dressing room opens westward toward the garden. A stepped penthouse crowns the composition, housing two studios, a fitness room, and a guest bath.

www.baukonzept-potsdam.de

(Featured in CUBE Berlin 03|20)