Contributor
Oda Pälmke

2010
Private Library of the Artist Jonathan Meese - Berlin - Germany

A historic pumping station was transformed into a private library and living quarters.
Old and new were playfully joined while existing elements were reused in new contexts.
The strategy pursued by the architect was one of minimal intervention, which, like an acupuncture treatment, can have great impact.
An old door was used in a new doorway. New cable conduits were visibly trenched.
Suspended ceilings were removed to reveal the ceiling’s original height, and their old fluorescent light fixtures were reused.
Minor changes also created new spatial connections: in the former service building where workers would change their clothes, a private library was created.
In order to connect the main rooms that are divided by a staircase, a three-panel angled mirror was installed: without removing the stairs, the rooms now appear as a whole space.
Step by step, the architectural interventions have transformed the entire atmosphere of the old industrial complex.

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Architecture as Resource / Imprint