Berlin architect Tillmann Wagner transforms the past and the concealed in what he calls the Sediment Loft in Marienwerder. The result is a "primordial house" constructed from recycled bricks in the Reichsformat standard. The owners salvaged these bricks from the ruins of their grandfather's former carriage house—serving simultaneously as building material and living memory. Shimmering in varied tones, the bricks were reassembled using diverse masonry patterns and stratifications. This profiling of the house's stone exterior translates the site's sedimentary geological layers into the architecture of the holiday loft. Within just 41 m², Wagner has created a home where the exterior wall's plastic modulation generates and defines the house's essential spaces: to the south, it recesses beneath the pitched roof to form an entrance loggia, with cedar-clad sliding doors and steel-glass panels opening onto the oak-planked floor of the expansive single room; to the east, a projecting bay articulates the facade; to the north, the central masonry bench extends outward as another bay. Two sleeping alcoves are marked by recesses in the eastern and western walls. All windows—fabricated from hot-dip galvanized rolled steel profiles—sit concealed behind perforated brickwork that filters both views and light. Inside, exposed recycled clinker brickwork similarly anchors the spatial experience. A substantial piece of white oiled birch plywood furniture accommodates a guest alcove, kitchen niche, and children's loft beneath the roof structure. Round skylights in the roof plane allow circles of sunlight to migrate across the space throughout the day. Rainwater from the roof surfaces collects in a concrete basin for garden irrigation. A wood-burning stove serves for cooking and heating when needed. In this way, the loft's archaic character offers city dwellers a deliberate pause—a gateway to rural life. Wagner's work transcends its moment by connecting the everyday with the essential, materializing it architecturally. He pursues the essence beneath the surface, ultimately arriving—as with the Sediment Loft—at the cycles of nature and things, at their origin. The jury of the Fritz Höger Prize, awarded for exceptional brick architecture, recognized this as a singular architectural achievement, honoring the "Primordial House" with the "Winner Special Mention" award in 2020.

www.tillmannwagner.de

Photography Credits:

Twarc

(Featured in CUBE Berlin 04|22)