An oasis with a private garden facing the courtyard – this is the wish that the clients gave the architects for the conversion of the two-story house in the middle of the beautiful Wilhelminian style houses. The principles of the existing building from 1962 were to be preserved and, despite the dense development of the residential area, bright rooms oriented towards the garden were to be created. It has become part of the perimeter block development and opens onto the inner courtyard and garden in the west with a large, old tree. Almost the entire width of the property facing the street is occupied by an existing garage. With the exception of the two entrances to the living area and the office, the facade is closed on the ground floor, which enables a private “courtyard atmosphere”. The original design of the three floors in three different materials appealed to the architect and the client so much that they kept it: the basement floor in exposed concrete, the ground floor as masonry and the first floor in timber construction, as well as the second floor. The ground floor is used as an office and the solid brick walls are painted white. The two upper floors serve as rooms for the family. The open living, dining and kitchen space with roof terrace are located in the second floor. The bedrooms, children’s and guest rooms and the bathroom are on the first floor. Theprivate roof terrace is barely visible from the neighborhood and, with the hip bath integrated into the wood paneling, becomes a Japanese feel-good bath outdoors.

The central element of the residential and commercial building is an open staircase that is well illuminated from the skylight, bringing light from top to the entrance on the ground floor and at the same time illuminates the corridor inside. This roof skylight ensures good ventilation through the chimney effect. Designed as an energy efficient house, it is very well insulated, the windows are triple-glazed and the blinds hardly let any heat into the interior when they are closed.