Restrained, timeless, but also self-confident - this is the appearance of the residential building, which was designed by the well-known Cologne architect Fritz Schaller. Even after extensive renovation and expansion, the listed building can hardly be distinguished from the surrounding buildings on the uniformly designed estate at first glance. It is only when you get a glimpse of the rear area that you can appreciate the effort with which the Cologne office of Benjamin von Pidoll Architektur has added an expressive sequence of rooms and new uses to the listed building.

Sometimes it is the conscious decision against something "new" that leads to going the extra mile in the existing building and the existing context in order to think outside the box. The initial situation was that the space requirements and space wishes of a family of seven had reached their limits in the existing listed building. Making a virtue of necessity, the required extension was to be completed on the park-like plot in several underground levels. The challenges here were the extremely extensive approval process and coordination with the building inspectorate and heritage office, as well as the continued use of the building during the conversion. Four construction phases alone were completed over the course of the three-year planning and conversion phase. The starting signal for the metamorphosis was the redesign of the entrance, living and working area on the existing first floor, which was redefined with an open concept, visual relationships and space-defining volumes. One of the design highlights is a multifunctional unit that accommodates TV and media as well as a bar cabinet and a fireplace. A 2,500-liter saltwater aquarium has also been integrated into the living area to provide a generous view of the outdoor area from the entrance. Walnut, oak and the existing listed Solnhofen paving dominate the choice of materials in all areas. The master bathroom, for example, impresses with a milled natural stone wall, warm oak elements and a washbasin that also has a natural stone look. Work on the underground extensions began at the same time as the development of the upper floors.

The biggest challenge turned out to be bringing the existing low basement floor up to the room height of the extension. The two floor levels could only be brought into line by gradually underpinning the foundations with piles. An atrium was added to a spacious underground lounge area, which in turn is both limited and opened up by an elongated infinity pool. The double-shell wall construction was lined with solid shell limestone facing bricks, which, with their different formats and joint layer dimensions, create the impression of an underground treasure chamber carefully embedded in the topography of the garden. The almost frameless window front, which directs the view from the inside into the atrium and then into the expansive depths of the transparent infinity pool, can be completely retracted into an adjacent wall pocket. Inside and outside literally merge seamlessly. An absolute highlight of the lounge is its lighting: at the end of the long room, the light cascades down the natural stone wall and staircase into the atrium. The combination of the atrium and the skylight running along the length of the room also creates a wide variety of shadows and many other effective lighting situations, including a particularly atmospherically charged evening lighting mood. Parallel to this, an individually planted garden landscape by garden designer Peter Berg has been created on the level above, which offers a variety of recreational qualities and uses for young and old thanks to its fine zoning. Even though new and old remain clearly separated here, they form a harmonious overall ensemble with design continuity.

www.vonpidoll.de

Photos:

Philip Kistner
www.philipkistner.com

(Published in CUBE Cologne Bonn 01|24)