A new house in the heart of popular Bockenheim? Rare, but possible when the conditions align. As was the case for the clients of ffm-architekten. Tovar + Tovar. Years earlier, the architecture firm had already transformed a former bakery with baking facilities in a five-story Gründerzeit building into a spacious residential home for this couple. Now they wanted to create additional living space for their growing family in the inner courtyard. The "children's house"—featuring a bathroom and two rooms—was to read as an independent dwelling, despite being situated atop the single-story extension with just 40 m² of floor area. This partial addition to the existing single-story residential extension presented a particular challenge: building codes mandated a sloped roof line toward the neighboring property.

Through a refined approach and keen attention to the residential context, the Frankfurt-based architecture firm solved the challenge while creating a touch of Swedish holiday charm—right in the heart of the city. "The Sweden-red metal facade creates a harmonious contrast with the surrounding greenery of hedges and trees. This transforms the upper extension into a kind of vacation home within the urban landscape," explains architect Hendrik Tovar, describing the modest yet sophisticated structure. "A functional floor plan, ingenious space utilization, a gallery in the attic gable accessible via custom-designed stair-shelves, and a small, bright bathroom nestled under the roof slope—these are all signature features of vacation-style architecture." The required emergency staircase doubles as a dedicated garden entrance, reinforcing the notion of an independent dwelling. Internally, the addition distinguishes itself from the main house equally well: while the public areas on the ground floor employ a bright aesthetic accentuated by ivory-colored cement screed, the upper extension is characterized by exposed wooden construction, oak hardwood stairs and flooring that establish a private, intimate atmosphere.

The architects also exercised restraint in material selection, concentrating on a focused palette of building materials. "We placed particular emphasis on sustainable, natural design. The entire structure of the house is constructed from renewable raw materials," Tovar explains. The floors, walls, and ceilings consist of solid softwood elements approximately 15 cm thick. Practical advantage: these could be assembled on-site in just two days. The wood-aluminum windows and garden staircase, together with the roof and facade cladding made from coated steel elements, form not only a unified design statement but also demonstrate material coherence. The ecological plant-based coating used here is the same finish found on traditional Swedish houses.

www.ffm-architekten.de

Photography Credits:

ffm-architekten; Markus Raupach and Hendrik Tovar

(Published in CUBE Frankfurt 02|21)