This 764-Square-Foot Munich Apartment Went From Prefab to Undeniably Individual
Heinrich: Even if you exceed your limits, you still need to start with ones in order to create a working budget. Sometimes there will be individual items where spending more than you originally anticipated feels justified, but in the end you have to look at everything in the context and consider the final sum. We handled it similarly in terms of time. We set ourselves a very broad time frame, but here too we realized that we would have to give notice on our apartment at some point and that would make the schedule tighter. Otherwise, there are always tasks that you can choose to put off. There are also the production times to consider and those can make everything stretch out even longer.
What challenges did the project present?
Freudenberger: It’s a luxury when you get to work with people who know their stuff and bring in people they trust, so you don’t have to figure out everything yourself. Our architect managed the project very closely with us.
Heinrich: There are always lots of challenges, but when everything turns out well in the end, you quickly forget about them.
Freudenberger: There were some cracks in the wall, for example, so a structural engineer had to come in to assess them. The apartment building was constructed in 1969, using different methods than we would use today. We were often faced with hard questions where we needed help.
It’s good that you had an expert at your side. Why did you decide to have custom cabinets made for the kitchen and not just buy pre-made ones?
Hannes: Yes, all the cabinets were made by a single source, the millworkers at Holzlöwe in Munich. First there was the cube in the entrance area with a bathroom. It really does look like a small “machine for living.” The closet and washing machine are on one side, and the bathroom with additional cupboards is located at the back. Perhaps we were inspired here by British interiors. We wanted everything to be an integral part of the architecture. It shouldn’t just be a matter of “filling” rooms, and instead everything should be interlinked and work together. We didn’t accept any compromises. We knew we wanted a mirrored wall on the opposite side of the space, so we tried to find a solution working with the craftsmen.
Freudenberger: I don’t know if it’s because we’re both creatives, but when I have an idea, it’s really difficult for me to find a compromise. It may sound a bit cliched, but we don’t compromise. There was no option except to have everything custom-made for us. Even though I love going into furniture stores and looking at everything, I would never find exactly what we wanted.
Heinrich: The complexity of the plan also created the hope that when we were done, living here would be easier for us and that everything would be neat and tidy.
How do you design an apartment that works for you? What steps do you go through when thinking about the design?
