Conversion of an Old Garage
Conversion of an old garage into a graphic designer's atelier.
The building had been used as a car garage since 1940. The roof and basement were in bad condition, the floors dirty and contaminated with oil. The basement was dark and damp. The walls, ceilings and doors were leaky and hadn't been insulated. The oil consumption required to heat these spaces was huge.
The goals of the renovation were:
-reparation of the damaged elements of the building;
-preservation of the rough industrial character of the building (both interior and exterior);
-significant ecological improvement (80% decrease in energy consumption);
-roof extension as a light source and access to the roof terrace;
-improvement of the basement.
The building physics proved to be especially challenging. The street facade was insulated from the outside using (rigid) Multipor. To avoid installing deep scuncheons, the window and door levels were shifted outwards. The metal folding doors from the 70s were replaced with a new double-glazed door constructed in the same style. The garage door was kept and insulated externally to allow for the possibility of reuse in the future. One entrance that had been walled off was reopened and fitted with a large window.
On the ground floor, a divider wall from the 80s was demolished to open up the space. The floor was cleaned and lightly polished. The room was fitted with new furniture, including a kitchen unit, wardrobe, bookshelf and a flight of stairs leading to the roof terrace. This divides the generous space into a meeting room and a working space. The roof extension now allows light to pour into the ground floor.
In the basement, the old concrete floor was removed and a new insulated floor was poured in at a level lower by 20cm to create a more generous space. The walls were also insulated from the inside using Multipor. Two light bays that had been filled with concrete in the 70s were reopened to draw more light into the basement with the result of turning it into a bright and spacious exhibition space.
