The homeowners sought a highly flexible interior layout for their new house. They planned years and decades ahead, envisioning the ability to transform the property into a multi-generational residence later. This vision presented a compelling challenge to the architects at FAKT in Berlin—and it evolved into a genuine research endeavor. The clients' aspirations reflect a demand that will only grow more frequent in the future. From the outset, it was established that the house should function both as a single-family dwelling and be divisible into up to four separate, self-contained residential units—in short, it needed to remain flexible for future uses.

The subsequent architectural process thus served simultaneously as a typological and spatial study for adaptable multi-unit housing. The new construction emerged within a settlement of single-family homes spanning various decades. There was therefore little necessity to adhere to any particular stylistic uniformity based on building typology. After exploring several design approaches, the team discovered the ideal solution in what became known as the "Cross-Split Configuration": multiple folded floor plates were stacked vertically and rotated 90 degrees relative to one another. This arrangement subdivides each floor plate into two height levels. The result is a variety of ceiling heights—2.5 meters in the foyer, 2.1 meters in the garage, and up to 4.6 meters in the polyvalent living spaces. The outcome of these interlocking split levels is a house without a uniform floor-to-floor height. Four distinct ceiling heights emerge per story, creating varying degrees of privacy—from open-plan living to intimate individual rooms. The building is accessed through a central core. The living spaces radiate outward, designed so that the stairwell core can later be sealed off and expanded with an elevator. The flat roof features a sheltered terrace with a densely planted roof garden. The resulting options for present and future use are: a single-family home for four to eight people, a multi-generational residence for five to eight people as a shared community, and a four-unit apartment building accommodating up to ten people. Ultimately, this represents a model for space-generating construction of the future.

www.fakt-office.com

Photography Credits:

Simon Menges

(Published in CUBE Berlin 02|23)