Municipal Housing Construction in Lichtenberg

​wolff:architekten completed 52 new municipal housing units in Berlin-Lichtenberg, most of them subsidized and rent-controlled — realized by converting previously unused attic spaces and adding a rooftop extension to a building complex built in 1929 by Walter Borchard, located on Liebenwalder-, Heiligenstädter- and Genslerstraße.

Designed by the Berlin architect Walter Borchard, the estate originally continued to Landsberger Allee with a rounded corner building that was destroyed during the Second World War.

​​

A particular challenge of the project lay in addressing the building's varied construction methods and historical layers, ranging from the original fabric to wartime repairs and later alterations. In addition, both the attic conversion and rooftop extension had to be carried out while the building remained occupied. By concentrating the new development on the existing roofscape, the project avoided any additional sealing of the estate's characteristic landscaped courtyard, designed according to the Modernist principles of "light, air, and sun." Not a single tree had to be removed, allowing the original urban design concept of the ensemble to be preserved.

​

Although the building is not listed as a protected heritage structure, the renovation included the careful restoration of its façades and stairwells, with original architectural features and finishes—from timber balustrades to terrazzo flooring—uncovered, preserved, and restored. The project demonstrates how a residential building from the 1920s, with its distinctive architectural character and design quality, can be sensitively adapted to create new affordable housing while preserving its historic identity.