The single-storey shop premises on Ennenstraße in Cologne's Neuehrenfeld district were difficult to let due to their layout and lack of delivery facilities. They were therefore scheduled for demolition. Instead, the owner, Die Ehrenfelder Gemeinnützige Wohnungsgenossenschaft, wanted to create flats in a prime location. The Cologne architects Damrau and Kusserow were commissioned to develop a four-storey building on the narrow plot, which would accommodate four family-friendly flats. At the same time, the perimeter of the block was broken up and the previously enclosed interior of the block was made accessible to all residents of the neighbourhood and converted into a green open space with a small playground.

The biggest challenge in the design was the neighbouring listed ensemble from the 1930s, which is also owned by the housing cooperative and is grouped around a square with a fountain. After time-consuming consultations with the lower monument authority, the building was positioned next to the neighbouring building in such a way that it forms the keystone of the historic row of houses. With its cubic volume, monochrome design and recess from the street line, the new building takes on an independent urban character. At the same time, however, the new building also responds to the listed neighbouring building by evoking historical references through identical window formats, a brush-stroke plaster finish and plastered window frames.

The outdoor seating areas of the four-room flats, each measuring 92 m², are designed as loggias and become a fully integrated part of the building, so that only the external emergency staircases facing the inner courtyard stand out from the line of the building. This benefits the clear, cubic design of the building. The offset of the building also creates space for street-side planting for the first time.

The building's sustainable energy concept is based on a water-water heat pump. It is one of the most efficient heat pumps due to its use of the constant temperature of the groundwater source and enables a low-temperature heating system. The energy concept is supplemented by instantaneous water heaters for hot water production. These are powered by the photovoltaic system, which is operated by the cooperative electricity provider "Die Energiegewinner". Residents of both the new building and the neighbouring listed building can thus benefit for the first time from an affordable and environmentally friendly electricity mix.

www.damrau-kusserow.de
www.die-ehrenfelder.de

Photography Credits:

Ludolf Dahmen
www.ludolfdahmen.de

(Published in CUBE Cologne Bonn 04|20)