The property, which is located in the heart of a small town called Eibenstock, is surrounded by the charming landscape and the hills of the Ore Mountains nature park.
The architecture of these mountain villages is dominated by the traditional building types, which consciously respond to the harsh climate of the area. The fundamental idea of this project is to reconcile these local traditions with a simple construction in a contemporary architectural language.

The angled structure of the roof, consisting of five differently pitched faces, was developed based on the property gradation and inspired by the significant steep roofs of the region.
The large building alcoves under the big, slanted roof clearly mark the most used areas and the main entrances to the generally rather closed shape of the building.
At the same time, these areas offer protection from snow and rain.
Despite being a single-storey construction with a steep roof, the compact structure presents itself confidently next to the multi-storey administration building and the surrounding neighborhood.

Due to its direct proximity to the forests of the Ore Mountains and the forestry office as users, the construction, consisting of a timber frame structure with standing-axis construction made of timber truss as a space frame was a natural choice. The reinforcement of the walls and the internal cladding is provided by a double layering of OSB wood composite panels. A reinforced concrete floor slab forms the overall foundation of the building, and, through surface smoothing, also serves as the finished floor.
Last but not least, these simple, archaic materials and constructions take the economic aspect and the use as a warehouse, garage and functional building into mind.

The buildings atmosphere and aura were achieved by the choice of the exterior roof and wall cladding.
Responding to the user’s forestry work, as well as the roofing with slate shingles, which is typical for the region, the entire building is also completely covered in shingles. Though instead of slate, the shingles used in this project are red cedar- wooden shingles, which are traditionally used in the mountain area.
In contrast to the scaly brittle material of the wooden shingles, the large alcoves were completely lined with surfaces of smooth, metallic shimmering aluminum panels on all sides.
All entrances, such as doors and garage doors, are integrated flush within these alcove areas.
This simple, traditional, yet specific building’s skin evokes a split stem with outer rough, dark bark and an inner, light and smooth core.

Building project: sharply cut | new construction of a farm building for forest district 14 in Eibenstock
Client: State of Saxony, represented by SIB NL Zwickau
Completion: 2010
Photographer: Werner Huthmacher, Bertram Bölkow
Architectural films: Ertzui Film

The small village of Schönbach is embedded in the beautiful natural scenery of the Upper Lusatian Highlands landscape conservation area.
Besides the idyllic natural surroundings, it also features numerous of the distinctive “Umgebindehaus” half-timbered houses for which Upper Lusatia is known beyond the region.
In this special construction method, the main room on the ground floor is a separate wooden log structure that is surrounded by a circumferential support system.

The Faktorenhaus in Schönbach was built around 1785 as a prestigious residential and commercial building with a half-timbered structure. “Faktoren” were canvas merchants who supplied cloth processors with yarns and equipment. After more than 30 years of vacancy and an increasingly deteriorating building condition, a retailer has once again taken on the historic property.
Instead of linen and yarns, the company, which has now moved into the Faktorenhaus, trades in contemporary furniture and kitchens. The company’s administrative offices are located on the upper floors.
The ground floor is a semi-public area which consists of a foyer, a cloakroom, toilets and seminar rooms under its historic cross and barrel vaults.
Still, the log cabin remains the heart of the building. Retaining its historical structure, it has been converted into a pleasant guest room with an open kitchen and fireplace.

The entire Faktorenhaus is listed as an important cultural monument.
Against this background, the general aim was to preserve the original look of the “Faktorenhaus”, but to update it in a contemporary way with a design adapted to the new uses.
On this basis, the building was freed of all extensions and added structural elements and returned to its clear cubature and supporting structure.
Inside, the timber framing and beams were largely exposed and made visible. On the one hand, to bring more natural daylight into the building, and on the other hand, to create a spatial experience that cannot be imagined from the outside. The exposed and stripped-back ceiling and wall surfaces result in large air and light spaces as well as galleries that create visual links between the different office levels.
Access to the upper office rooms is provided by a new staircase on the north side.

Materials and surfaces were used according to the principle of “what you see is what you get”. History and Zeitgeist go hand in hand here.
Quarry stone, marsh lime sludge and charred wood in combination with hand-carved white decorative frames characterize the exterior appearance. Inside, natural clay plasters and light casein colours contrast with dark crude steel or reflective chrome steel surfaces. Sound-absorbing, anthracite-coloured carpets were used for the office and meeting room floors. The other surfaces are laid with large-format, oiled oak planks. For the log cabin, historical planks found in the building were refurbished and reused. All other public areas are laid with cement tiles. The three main floors feature differently coloured sanitary facilities. Compared to the minimal colouring of the main structure, brighter colours such as violet, purple and turquoise were used for these subordinate rooms. The existing and the new complement each other and form a natural unity. The building remains an “Umgebindehaus”, but one that is of the here and now.

Building project: Factor house Schönbach | conversion of a half-timbered house
Client: Uwe Starke e.Kfm.
Completion: 2020
Photographer: Robert Rieger
Architectural film: Ertzui Film

Deep in the Ore Mountains, in the small village of Hundsdübel near Stützengrün, the Mühle company has been manufacturing the finest shaving products for around 80 years. Handmade and locally manufactured from aluminum, wood, porcelain, resin and badger hair, they are known all over the world to people who shave.
For the expanding company, the narrow, on a slope situated factory site has been compacted with a new production hall.

The intention of the new additional building was to create a workplace with a refinement that resembles exactly Mühle’s products and working methods: local and high-quality, traditional and modern, sharp and yet cautious. Based on the urban planning specifications, the 400 square meter hall is positioned as a link between two existing buildings on the factory site.
It is divided into a high single-storey production section and a smaller two-storey area. The ground floor of this “house within a house” construction holds offices and administration rooms. The upper floor accommodates a large conference room with a view over the production hall.
Externally, the new building has a shimmering glass appearance. The glass allows the exterior spaces to flow inwards, provides insights into the production process and, last but not least, ensures maximum natural lighting in the hall.
The façade is structured by finely shimmering and precisely folded aluminum profiles – a deliberate reference to the fine shaving products that are manufactured here at the site. In contrast to the exterior appearance, the interior of the hall is characterized almost exclusively by wooden surfaces, that make it feel like a warming, sheltering body.

Simple and yet elegant, a wing-smoothed steel concrete floor forms the structural basis of the new building. The floor slab also provides the heating in the hall via an industrial floor heating system based on a ground water heat pump.
The building is supported towards the north-western slope by a steel concrete wall at the back, which is finished in exposed concrete.
Due to the proximity to the Ore Mountains and in the context of conscious building with renewable raw materials, all other load-bearing elements are designed as timber constructions. The columns and beams are made of laminated wood. Ceiling and roof are designed as solid cross-laminated timber elements. The internal window structures and acoustic cladding are also made of wood.
These natural materials not only provide good structural and insulating characteristics, but also ensure a healthy climate in the hall.
The roof, which is clearly visible from the village, is covered in greenery and houses the photovoltaics that supply the electricity for the geothermal heat pump.

Building project: Mühle Shaving, new construction of factory hall 4
Client: Mühle | Hans-Jürgen Müller GmbH & Co. KG
Completion: 2023
Photographer: Simon Menges; Felix Brüggemann

Behind the railroad tracks, in the south of Leipzig, the new southern combined heat and power plant rises with its characteristic, colourful cubes. It is the first combined heat and power plant in Germany that is completely operated with hydrogen. The new objects are basically made up of purely technical features. They are, in a way, an oversized engine block. But that also means that they could not be integrated in their surroundings without any further measures, because of the partly listed and very high-quality buildings around it. Under these circumstances the “Stadtwerke Leipzig” launched a design competition, which we could gladly win with our contribution of a “ceramic continuation”. The idea was to translate the exposed brickwork of the historic buildings with their yellow, brown, and reddish clinker bricks onto the three new buildings. Despite the solely technical function, the materials used for the facades were meant to create a high-quality appearance that corresponds with the surroundings and existing buildings. The material is therefore also fired clay. It was realized as a curtain facade, consisting of glazed panels with a fine, irregular vertical structure. Just the ground levels are still made of clinker brickwork. Meanwhile, its, partly sloping, finish imitates the silhouette and form of the roofing on the opposite side and still manages to create a further relation with its surroundings while also remaining independent.

Building project: Leipzig cogeneration plant | Façade design of the plant buildings
Client: Stadtwerke Leipzig, in cooperation with Fichtner GmbH
Invitation to tender 2020
Completion: 2023

Embedded into the green area of a hospital complex, the new pharmacy forms an autonomous addition to the ensemble of the cultural monument. The multi-angled shape of the building derives from the surrounding context and adds to the functional and architectural concept.
The beige-coloured plaster façade was refined with a horizontal broom stroke structure, giving it an iridescent appearance and correspondence to the surrounding, existing buildings.
The slim aluminum windows are flush with the façade. An incision into the building is lined with wooden elements and emphasizes the pharmacy’s main entrance. In contrast to the building’s sharp-edged exterior, the main sales area is a welcoming cocoon.
Characterized by floor-to-ceiling wall paneling and built-in furniture made of dark, wooden surfaces, the visitor enters an unexpectedly sheltered cosmos. Curved, dynamic sales counters with high-gloss lacquered surfaces complete the scenery. Natural daylight enters the room via circular skylights that provide a view of the surrounding treetops.

Building project: Pharmacy at the city forest | new building in Zwickau-Marienthal
Client: Uta Münch
Completion: 2009
Photographer: Maximilian Meisse, Geuther

The historic, listed building in the center of the mountain town of Schneeberg was converted and renovated into a police station.
To do this, the substance was structurally restored to its original state.
New elements, like furniture and doors, new materials and surfaces were considered as contemporary “ingredients” that add to the historic building complex. Their use was limited to an indispensable minimum though.
All elements comply with current functional and technical standards, but their curved forms are based on the ornamentation and vaults of the existing building. The modest and ascetic design creates a subtle but deliberate contrast to the historical substance, thus showing off each epoch’s qualities.
The result is a contemporary police station within the qualities of the almost 500 years old historical substance.

Building project: Schneeberg police station | Conversion, relocation and expansion
Client: State of Saxony, SIB NL Zwickau
Completion: 2008
Photographer: Bertram Bölkow