The community-oriented residential project in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district toys with the concept of threshold space - a transition that can be both indoor and outdoor. It can be used as a private or public space and can be seen as a spatial boundary as well as an inviting place to access.
A light, glass shell surrounds the four-storey living area and thus forms a threshold, a so-called buffer zone, between the public street space and the private interior. Within this shell are the communal and private areas as well as the internal open access to the four residential floors. The external access to the shared kitchen areas on the first and third floors is via the adjacent staircase.
The private living quarters consist of wooden boxes stacked on top of each other, which have a closed character. Diffuse daylight penetrates the interior through frosted glass panes on the side of the wooden box facing the outer façade. Openings on this side provide natural ventilation, while a wooden sliding door provides access to the box. In order to guarantee the possibility of retreat and privacy, the box is separated from the threshold space by a double sliding door - a glass one inside and a wooden one outside.
The boxes can be combined as needed, creating a variety of different apartment sizes. The adjoining surface of the threshold space is also allocated to each box living space. This intermediate area is either automatically separated from the rest of the room by the position of the box or curtains are used to create visual separation.