Wilhelminian-era buildings with their gracious residential apartments are plentiful in Berlin, yet they were designed for a lifestyle quite different from today's needs. Architects Lemme Locke Lux from Berlin were tasked with modernizing a 130 m² apartment in one of these 1910 Wilmersdorf buildings. What they found was a dysfunctional floor plan: a "Berlin room" serving as a thoroughfare between living spaces, a kitchen relegated to the back, and a dark hallway cutting off the main living area.

The architects developed a concept that responds to contemporary living. The spatial arrangement was fundamentally reimagined: the kitchen and dining area now occupy the central space where the "Berlin room" once stood. This strategic pivot naturally unlocked a logical, dynamic flow throughout the apartment. The living room, two flexible-use spaces, and a bathroom are positioned in front of the kitchen, while a generous bedroom and second bathroom sit behind it. A key concept was maximizing natural light through spatial openness—a goal fully realized. The second transformation involved bringing the design into the present: a custom-made 15-metre built-in element anchors the open-plan living core, creating visual separation while delivering substantial storage. Carefully chosen color accents—icy blue, whispering green, and vibrant orange—punctuate the bathroom, kitchen, and select walls. The original solid wood herringbone parquet, still partially intact, was restored and completed. The striking original double doors and box windows, with their beautiful Art Nouveau details and hardware, were preserved. Plastic windows facing the courtyard were replaced with new wooden ones. All surplus vintage materials were responsibly donated to a historical building materials dealer. The new kitchen cabinetry features premium colored HPL (high-pressure laminate), while Italian ceramics replaced the bathroom tiles. Strategic built-in storage maximizes the usable space and creates a serene, ordered environment. Through all these interventions and this thoughtful rejuvenation, the apartment's original character remains beautifully intact.

www.lemmelockelux.de

Photography:
Maja Wirkus
www.majawirkus.com

(Published in CUBE Berlin 03|24)