027 Verwalterinnenhaus, Komturei Werben

Werben (Elbe)

2020-2025

Aimée Michelfelder
Antonia Stahl
David Gössler
Emily Schlatter
Hanah Titz
Jakob Wolters
Jalma Fiolka
Luisa Klocke
Nina Lehrum
Noah Curinga
Patrick Holzer
Yola Fahdt
und Jurek Brüggen

in collaboration with AADA, AFEA, ammi and patrick holzer

photos by Anne Schwalbe and Hannes Heitmüller

The Verwalterinnenhaus stood empty. For years, the historic building in the center of the Komturei Werben had been falling into disrepair — right next to the great church of the smallest Hanseatic town on the Elbe.

The history of the site reaches back to the year 1160. The Order of St. John founded here what would be, for a good 200 years, the most important settlement in northeastern Germany. The agricultural buildings of the estate date from the 19th century; they last served as an agricultural collective — and then fell into decay for decades.

A group of young architects came to Werben by chance. In a self-initiated concept process, they worked together with the town over two years to develop a plan for the site. The goal: an ecological model project for living and working in the countryside — supported by the federal government, the state, and the municipality, in various forms of ownership and for different generations.

The Verwalterinnenhaus is the first renovated building of the Komturei Werben.
From a cooperative planning process, a careful, ecological transformation emerged — the historic fabric and the embodied energy contained within it were preserved as far as possible. What could be repaired was repaired; what could be secured was secured.

The temporal layers of nearly the last 1,000 years are visible once again. A new, contemporary layer was added.

The flexible spatial structure of the upper floor is divided into six apartments: bathrooms, an escape stairwell, and kitchens were added as reversible, non-load-bearing timber fittings and stainless steel elements. New dormers, balconies, and a canopy with photovoltaics likewise stand out as a contemporary layer — abstract and pared back, not a rupture but a continuation. The smaller, considerably older lower level, upon which the building was later erected, has been exposed and today serves as a public sauna and relaxation area.

The destroyed pinnacles of this listed building have been rebuilt in an abstracted masonry bond using reclaimed bricks. Their cavities and openings were shaped — according to their height and orientation — into individual habitats for swallows, swifts, and bats.
The balcony on the west side was given an elevated, free-standing structure so as not to interfere with the existing ceiling joists. Alongside the load-bearing timber supports, two new field maple trees are growing. In many years' time they will take over the role of the supports — a living, baubotanik load-bearing structure that will replace the timber posts once their lifespan comes to an end.

The Verwalterinnenhaus holds within its walls not only nearly a thousand years of history and embodied energy. It also stores around 70 tonnes of clay, which increases the thermal storage mass and regulates both temperature and humidity by natural means.

Hemp-lime and wood-fibre insulation, lime plaster and clay plaster, reed matting and lime screed — all materials are bioregional, vapour-permeable, and installed by local craft businesses. Used roof tiles and masonry bricks were reused within the building. A rainwater cistern and a greywater piping system supply the toilets and garden.

The Verwalterinnenhaus is now an ecological dwelling — for a shared future over the next thousand years.


Index