Its location in a block interior area near the Lindenthal Canal gave the property an almost island-like, thoroughly romantic character. Originally occupied by a low-rise post-war building, this gem was to be redeveloped into an apartment building on behalf of the archdiocese. The design selected and realised by the Cologne-based firm Kastner Pichler Architekten blends harmoniously into the heterogeneous situation behind Lortzingstraße and creates enough space for a total of six bright three- to four-room apartments for families with generous outdoor spaces.

While the perimeter of the block in the east is formed by tall Wilhelminian-style buildings, either brick or plastered depending on the year of construction, the interior of the block in the west is characterised by small-scale development consisting of gabled houses with a village-like appearance. The new building mediates between these extremes of the existing structures: with its compact floor plan, it takes up as little space as possible. On the other hand, the three-storey height is moderate and characterised by restraint: the eaves of the neighbouring perimeter block development are only exceeded by a few centimetres. On each side, there are also two sculptural recesses, whose proportions reflect the side lengths of the inner block development and offer generous space for outdoor terraces. The compact design also optimises the volume in terms of building physics in relation to the outer shell. The solid construction with high insulation values in which the residential building was erected guaranteed simple and quick construction without damage-prone composite thermal insulation systems. The light grey brick facing also makes the façade an exceptionally robust outer skin that requires minimal maintenance and exudes a very high level of quality and sustainability. Triple-glazed, floor-to-ceiling, double-wing French wood-aluminium windows with integrated sun protection slats in a contrasting anthracite tone help to soften the austerity of the cubature. At the same time, they emphasise the pronounced vertical orientation of the building. This classic design gives the new building the character of a noble townhouse.

www.kastnerpichler.de

Photography Credits:

Lukas Roth
www.lukas-roth.de

(Published in CUBE Cologne Bonn 02|21)