GRAFT

GRAFT
Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH
Heidestrasse 50
D – 10557 Berlin
Phone +49 (0) 30 – 306 45 10 30
Fax +49 (0) 30 – 306 45 10 334
www.graftlab.com
pr@graftlab.com

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Office

“A l’origine de toute connaissance, nous rencontrons la curiosité ! Elle est une condition essentielle du progrès.” Alexandra David-Néel

It is a fundamental rule of physics, but also life: if you want to move forward you inevitably have to lose balance. There have been nodiscoveries, no inventions and no moments of serendipity in human history without the courage to enter terrain vague. Hardly anything determines our lives as much as the spaces that surround us. The demand for an augmented and sustainable quality of life mainly concerns our immediate environments: Architecture must improve our lives!

As we are facing challenging dynamics and clashes of society and culture, we have to embrace a culture of risk and move towards the unknown or assumed opposite in order to resolve the mounting problems of the way we live together. This method is called grafting.

LARS KRÜCKEBERG, WOLFRAM PUTZ, THOMAS WILLEMEIT / GRAFT

There aren’t many architectural partnerships whose name also signalises their very own particular attitude to design. But this is definitely so in the case of the GRAFT architectural practice, founded in Los Angeles in 1998.

This term, which originates in botany, is a method of cultivation, and was adopted by architects Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz and Thomas Willemeit as the philosophy of their creation: Graft’s architecture creates hybrids which unify all the best properties of each of the ingredients that go to make up good architecture.

With nearly 100 employees, and additional offices in Berlin and Beijing, the practice pursues a consistently experimental and interdisciplinary approach, which covers larger but also smaller urban development, architecture and design projects..

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Project

‘Holistic living’ energy plus houses, Berlin, Germany

The agency was responsible for the design of three new ‘energy plus’ buildings in Berlin. These are buildings that generate more energy than is required for their own running and for supplying the inhabitants. The trio of buildings comprises a detached property and two terrace houses, and distinguishes itself by the exclusive use of sustainable, sound building materials, innovative and highly efficient housing technology plus a complementary electro-mobility concept. This holistic approach, which takes into  consideration not only the building’s consumption levels and energy requirements, but also the everyday lives and practice of its occupants, also takes into account the finite nature of all architecture.

So at the end of their lifetime the building materials used can be reused or disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. This commendable, yet in the best sense of the word, modest, concept combines the design with an expressive architectonic gesture and an intelligent room layout. In this concept, the light, outward-facing areas and areas for private retreat are harmoniously  organised.

LOCATION, COUNTRY: Berlin, Germany
COMPLETED: 2015
GFA: Site area 1,707m2,
footprint area 345.5m2