Blücherstrasse Loft - Berlin [2008]

The underlying idea of the design concept was to confront the existing building stock with new surfaces and materials. The situation encountered, a former furniture factory in a Berlin backyard, is characterized by generously sized and heavily structured interiors of both the building and the entire block. The interior is structured though the brick vaulted ceiling while the exterior is emphasized by the very distinct façade. The new, non-structured surfaces emphasize the space - and thereby the size - of the rooms, facilitating an attribution of old and new.
The industrial strip parquet flooring covering all rooms is a reminiscence to the history of the property and provides the loft with a warm atmosphere. Only the wet areas are outfitted with large-format cast stones covering the floors and, where necessary, the walls. These surfaces are matching the wooden floors in color, with the aim of creating a spatial continuity with the other surfaces.
The large-size, flush-mounted frameless mirrors in the bathrooms generate a continuity in the vertical dimension.
The basic lighting was planned and constructed in the way of indirect lighting, meant to highlight and support the architectural qualities of the loft. It is unobtrusive and emphasizes the individual character of the rooms. Mounted high up on the supports, the indirect lighting fosters the structure of the ceilings. By way of invisible lighting, the new wall surfaces in the bathrooms are lit in a laminar and adjustable way.

Architect: M. Stankovic + T. Jortzick [Marina Stankovic Architekten BDA]