No Man’s Land
Self-Sustaining Farmhouse Renovation
MV, Germany
Single Family Residence, 200 sqm
Private
Completed December 2020
Pre-Design to Construction Administration & Management
Location
Typology
Client
Status
Services
Collaborator
Photos
Sierra Boaz Cobb
Pujan Shakupa
Sealed up and shrouded in the former East Germany, this 19th-century traditional farmhouse is given new life in a renovation that celebrates its history. The renovation restores and reveals the original construction, including the detailed brick exterior and interior timber-framing, and complements it with state-of-the-art sustainable interventions. Solar shingles, integrated into the vernacular roof, are coupled with a geo-thermal system to achieve net-zero energy consumption. The open plan and double-height space provide a modern layout, while simultaneously exposing traces of the original floorplan through the timber framing. This architectural palimpsest preserves the stories of the past while embracing the present.
This 19th century traditional farmhouse was sealed up in the former communist GDR era. Openings were closed or minimized, the front door was eliminated, and the masonry facade was sealed with concrete plaster.
The Renovation restores and reveals the original construction, including the detailed brick exterior and interior timber-framing, and complements it with state-of-the-art sustainable interventions.
The overarching principle of preservational renewal is legible in both, the details as well as in the overall design: innovation and tradition are not opposing forces but are to be understood as complementary. The house has kept its historical identity and uniqueness, while simultaneously meeting the standards of modern living and setting a new architectural standard for sustainability in an infrastructural no-man’s-land.
Solar panel shingles are integrated into the roof system and together with geothermal, create a self-sufficient heating and energy system. Each solar shingle is the same shape, size, and color as the standard concrete roof shingle, typical in the region.
