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Architects: Buero Wagner
- Area: 40 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Florian Holzherr, Kim Fohman
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Manufacturers: RODECA GMBH
Text description provided by the architects. The conversion of a garage into office space was completed in 2023 and is located in Breitbrunn am Ammersee. During the Corona pandemic, the focus of work shifted to residential developments through home offices. This will also become an integral part of a new work environment in a post-pandemic era.
The workspace was moved to the existing double garage to allow living and working in the same place. Since we feel it is no longer contemporary to build automobile structures, the parking spaces in front of the garage were placed in the driveway. This way, new living, and working spaces are created in the existing structure without sealing and building on new land.
In the rear part of the garage, a small house was set, which contains an entrance, toilet, and a telephone booth. The free front area is thus used exclusively for work. The garage door was replaced by a polycarbonate facade to provide the rooms with sufficient light and at the same time protect them from views from the street. A view into the quiet courtyard was made possible by a wall opening. The skylight, also new, casts a circle of light into the offices, allowing the position of the sun to be read.
The existing exterior masonry walls were not additionally insulated, only the roof area and the existing windows were energetically upgraded. For economic reasons, the interior was finished with a conventional drywall system. The dry screed was left visible and sealed.
The metal skin of the small house consists of galvanized metal panels, which are commonly used for drywall firewalls. These panels were attached with drywall profiles. Lighting was mounted on cable trays and suspended from the ceiling. The table and stools are made of galvanized pressed grates. The interior of the small box is all black in contrast to the bright and metallic surfaces of the office space, focusing on itself.
The chosen industrial materials are available in conventional building material stores. The material canon consists of inexpensive banal sturdy long-lasting materials that take on a new value through their treatment, application, and composition with each other, posing the question of sufficiency and the acceptance of a new aesthetic in our interactions with existing structures.
