Few design conditions are as multi-layered as the residential palimpsest – a historic building asked to absorb modern life without surrendering what made it worth preserving in the first place. Frankfurt Penthouse, completed by a Munich-based workshop and studio Wood rushit navigates precisely this tension. The Wilhelminian era left behind a very particular architectural grammar – deep floor slabs, generously proportioned rooms and load-bearing masonry. Instead of normalizing these conditions or treating them as a neutral backdrop, Holzrausch worked the existing fabric into the logic of the intervention itself.
The two-story roof extension that crowns the building is the boldest move of the project and the most structurally clarifying move. Constructing a new volume on top of the historical shell, the work makes a legible distinction between what was found and what was constructed. Inside, Kampala—an African hardwood with a warm amber grain that oxidizes gracefully—runs as a full-height paneling in rooms, built-ins and circulations, acting as a continuous spatial membrane.
Warm brushed stainless steel meets terrazzo and stained wood in the kitchen. Acting as a single-source supplier with designers, structural engineers and craftsmen in constant dialogue, Holzrausch was particularly well placed to resolve these intersections. The final result is coherent precisely because no element was considered in isolation from the whole.
The client came with an art collection, from which he required a space with non-competing walls and circulation that allowed constant attention. The calm sequence of the rooms was a direct response to this need, with the Cabala shell providing a visual ground warm enough to humanize the spaces without imposing against the works on display. It’s a balance that adjacent gallery residences often fail to achieve, defying either the clinical neutrality of a white cube or the exuberant home that overwhelms the collection.
See more information about Holzrausch’s website.
Photo by Salva Lopez.
