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Old Granary, Eckernförde
Old Granary, Eckernförde
The granary built in Eckernförde in 1847 was originally constructed as a grain store. In the year 1900, the hardware store Schuch moved into the historic building, giving rise to the affectionate name “Schuch Warehouse.”
Project data
Place: Rosengang 4, 24340 EckernfördeBuilder: rimpf Architektur & Generalplanung
Planning: 2001
Construction time: 2002 – 2004
Costs: 1.100.000 €
Photograph: rimpf Architektur & Generalplanung, Leonid Levi Zimmermann
Awards: Monument Preservation Award 2004 from the Sparkassen Foundation for Cultural Monuments
Renovation of a Cultural Monument – The “Schuch Warehouse”
The state of Schleswig-Holstein listed the building as a cultural monument in the year 2000. In the following year, the architecture firm rimpf in Eckernförde took on the challenge of a complex and professional renovation of the old warehouse. For this, not only did new spaces need to be created based on usage requirements, but also the technical installations necessary in a modern architectural office had to be implemented. The goal was to reverse the structural changes of the last decade as much as possible and restore the original historical appearance.
Conversion into an architectural office
The listed building extends over two full stories with a high gabled roof, which houses the converted attic. With its trapezoidal floor plan, the building has a width of 12 meters on one side, a length of 20.50 meters on one side, and a length of 21.50 meters on the other side. With its three-aisled timber frame construction and the continuous floors across the individual levels, the former use as a grain storage facility can be recognized.
In 2001, the renovation and conversion of the storage facility began. Bright, open spaces have emerged within a historical context. The original appearance of the storage facility has been preserved despite the addition of modern elements. This includes, on the one hand, the unglazed hatch windows, which have been supplemented by closable glass elements inside, thus not affecting the existing structure. On the other hand, it is evident in the preservation or reconstruction of the round archway and the window shutters.
Open spaces as a characteristic of a storage facility
The wooden posts and beams were also professionally restored. In the lower floors, thanks to the installation of steel-glass walls and doors, the open structure and visibility of the historical elements have been preserved. Auxiliary areas such as restrooms are placed in the room as detached boxes approximately 2.20 meters high.
To ensure the necessary lighting and ventilation in the attic, large skylights were installed on the roof surface facing away from the street. Thus, the entire supporting structure of the roof was preserved, and the appearance of the storage room was not affected by additional roof windows or ceilings.
Disturbing extensions were removed and the storage was cleared. A two-story extension with a flat roof was added by connecting it with a high glass proportion in the backyard. Here are the meeting and lounge rooms for the employees.
Awarded with a monument preservation prize
In the entrance area, the backlit reception desk with a red wall in the background offers a special highlight. Behind it is the steel-wood staircase that connects the three floors.
A special detail is also represented by the former floor hatches from the attic to the ground floor. Where once the grain sacks were hoisted up by a winch, glazing now offers a completely new perspective in the historical context.
The sensitive handling of the existing building structure and the integration of elegant solutions were honored in 2004 with the Monument Preservation Award from the Sparkassen Foundation for Cultural Monuments. The renovation became part of a Europe-wide exhibition on outstanding industrial monuments in 2013.