A family relocating from Aachen to Stuttgart's Killesberg district faced a challenge: their 1980s semi-detached home fell short of their spatial and architectural aspirations. The owners and architects—Fischer Rüdenauer Architekten from Stuttgart—made a bold decision: a radical renovation that stripped the building down to its structural shell. The result? No trace of the "eighties" remains. Instead, the residence emerges as a strikingly contemporary yet timeless home, with fashionable flourishes consciously set aside. A freshly composed façade, generous windows, and open wooden slatted cladding endow the house with a composed, confident presence.

Inside, the spaces are luminous, generous, and seamlessly integrated with the outdoors on the ground floor—exactly what the family envisioned. Sightlines running lengthwise open the floor plan to a newly designed garden landscape of terraces, steps, retaining walls, and thoughtful plantings that transform the yard into an outdoor living room. The entrance, positioned along the building's long side, and its opposing staircase define a central hub that can be closed off from the living and dining areas via sliding doors. Large window elements flanking the entry flood the hallway with light and double as seating—a simple move that elevates everyday circulation. When the doors open wide, the entire ground floor dissolves into one flowing living realm, while a sculptural steel-and-wood spiral staircase connects all four floors. The two upper levels house private rooms, a study, and two bathrooms; the basement provides storage, mechanical systems, and a hobby space.

The renovation is characterized by carefully curated, high-quality materials, including oak parquet and porcelain stoneware for the flooring, as well as fine plaster painted white for walls and ceilings. The wood-aluminum windows feature oak profiles on the interior and are finished in dark gray on the exterior, with aluminum roller blinds providing solar control over the glazing. Doors, kitchen, and built-in furniture were custom-designed by the architect and crafted by the joiner. In addition to an intelligent lighting concept, the house received a completely new smart building systems installation with a heat pump and a large photovoltaic array on the roof, as well as radiant floor heating throughout. A bus control system integrates lighting, solar shading, heating, and door communication.

www.fr-architekten.com

Photography:
Thomas Streitberg

(Published in CUBE Stuttgart 02|24)