Conservation Refurbishment and Conversion of Planie Children's House | Reutlingen, Germany | 2024

Architects: Dannien Roller Architekten + Partner PartGmbB
Design Team: Theresa Esser, Andi Ramici, Matthias Roller, and Maren Dannien
Client: City of Reutlingen
Photographers: Dietmar Strauß, Besigheim

The two-storey building was constructed in 1887 as a villa for the merchant Alfred Knapp. The architect Markus Zimmermann created a brick building with a sandstone structure and kneeling storey with a hipped roof in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Set back from the Planie street, it is surrounded by a park-like garden. The building, together with the garden and enclosure, is a listed building due to its high bourgeois architecture.

Today, the building is used as a municipal day care centre for four groups. There is now an exercise room in the basement and the staircase has been brought up to the latest fire safety standards. The sanitary facilities were completely renovated and a new children's kitchen was built on the ground floor next to the canteen kitchen.

This was placed on the site of the historic fireplace and picks up on the theme in terms of design through an essence-like formulation of the built-in furniture. The roof was refurbished and all building surfaces were restored. A new entrance canopy completes the building. Many materials were carefully removed, reused and supplemented, which not only preserved the historical charm, but also supported the sustainability of the project.