A
new prototype for a portable home, which comes with us if we have to move: Box. Box was constructed on the rooftop of an abandoned factory with all the trimmings necessary to turn it into an extraordinary attic apartment. This glass cube in Mannheim, Germany, is the first home built using the new modular system by interior design studio Raumfreiheit. The studio name literally translates from German as “spatial freedom” and Box fully represents this idea: a versatile space which can be customized to a great extent.
Born from an increasing need for flexible living and working spaces, Box can be constructed in a variety of different materials from timber to rendered walls, plus it can be scaled down or up and most importantly, taken down and rebuilt on another site. Here, Box is a freestanding glass cube with cutting edge technology. For its “unveiling”, Box was displayed on the rooftop of one of the coolest neighbourhoods in town, surrounded by a beautiful hanging garden with pool, canopies and fireplace.
Interior designer Torsten Ohrnberger is the man behind this modular system and together with Siegfried Hendel and Simone Eicher, he co-owns studio Raumfreiheit. Since 2013, Torsten has also been a partner of interior design store Freisberg Wohnbedarf, which offers a comprehensive interior design service.
Firewood is stacked in polypropylene shelves by Casamania, a material extremely suitable for outdoors. Here, several units are assembled together and build a wall which shelters a corner of the terrace. Floor lamp by Vesoi.
Refined and elegant, modern and innovative, this prototype is 65 sqm large. It has an open-plan layout with free-flowing spaces, living room and open-plan kitchen are in the largest area, while bedroom and bathroom are behind a central partition wall. Light-reflecting white furniture and lacquered white timber flooring contrast with two partition walls in blackboard paint on which, armed with chalk, you can let your creativity run wild.
Furnishings include refined pieces like this suspended table. All pieces by international brands, from fireplace to accessories, are supplied by interior design store Freisberg Wohnbedarf. In the foreground, Ego sofa by Ferlea.
By looking at this example, you would think that building a fantastic attic apartment would be the easiest thing in the world, here the magic lies in modular construction, seldom employed in domestic architecture: simple, flexible and portable, when well executed. “First of all, good interior design has to be functional (…)”, this is at the foundation of Torsten’s philosophy, who with his system has brought together two contrasting notions: you can be in your own home, even if away from home. We can pack this attic apartment in our suitcase and with our holidays approaching, re-construct it on a boat-house, sailing away into the horizon.
Design project
Modular attic apartment in the city
Location: Mannheim, Germany
Floors: 1
Size: 65 sqm
Architecture and interior design project:
Raumfreiheit Entwerfen + Planen, Torsten Ohrnberger, R 6,1
68161 Mannheim, Germany
Tel: 0049 (0) 621 15 59 32
Email: info@raumfreiheit.de
Furniture sourcing:
Freisberg Wohnbedarf GmbH
Edigheimer Straße 7, 67069 Ludwigshafen, Germany
Tel: 0049 (0) 621 65 919 70
Email: info@freisberg-wohnbedarf.de
www.freisberg-wohnbedarf.de
Photos:
Credits Olivier Gambier
Courtesy Freisberg Wohnbedarf
