Topped Out

A Turn-of-the-Century Building with a Maisonette in the Attic Story

Just off Bernauer Strasse and adjacent to Mauerpark stands this Wilhelmine-era apartment building—a quintessential Berlin Altbau whose rough rendered façade from the GDR era speaks to its storied past. During renovation, the base, windows, and roof frieze were unified in a monochromatic blue-grey palette. Only upon closer inspection—and from sufficient distance—does the newly constructed roof with its commanding skylights reveal itself.

Architects Kirchberger & Wiegner Rohde designed the roof extension and its generous maisonette, guiding the project through to successful completion. The existing fourth floor was connected to the new attic level by an internal staircase, and an entirely new roof structure was constructed. The design centers on a column-free attic space—a spatial volume experienced in its full architectural potential. A cube-shaped volume inserted within accommodates essential functions: kitchenette, bathrooms, guest and work rooms, and vertical circulation.
Formal restraint is achieved through subtle color choices: walls and flooring in exposed screed and linoleum. Pigmented oak wood surfaces punctuate the center, anchoring the utility zones. Vertical wood grain and a sculptural suspended fireplace emphasize the generous ceiling height. Large-format skylights punctuate the traditional pitched roof on the street elevation. Like the expansive south-west sliding glass door—framing views of the tree-lined courtyard and Berlin's roofscape—these windows are crisply framed in black. The lower maisonette level occupies the fourth floor, housing bedrooms, children's rooms, and bathrooms. Here, original windows, ceilings, and floor construction were preserved. Layered flooring from various periods was removed and replaced with light grey linoleum on chipboard substrate. All bathrooms feature flush-mounted showers and glass-tile finishes in soft greys and blues.

The structural design references the original roof's geometry, with the ridge elevated by nearly one meter. The new rafter roof—column-free—employs inter-rafter insulation and rear-ventilated tile cladding to prevent moisture accumulation. Masonry fire and stairwell walls were added; interior partitions are metal-stud framed with plasterboard. A floating screed with radiant heating tops the preserved fourth-floor ceiling. The interplay of interior and exterior is integral to the design, expressed through continuous wood paneling and structural lines echoing the roof geometry. The polished screed transitions seamlessly to the roof terrace's concrete paver surface, mirroring its color tonality, while black-painted steel railings dialogue with the window framing.

www.kirchbergerundwiegnerrohde.de