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Tabakfabrik Dresden

Praeger Richter Architekten

Tabakfabrik Alttrachau by Praeger Richter Architekten is a residential transformation and adaptive reuse project of 2015 in Germany, Dresden. While use before did serve as a Gründerzeit-era tobacco factory, the transformation of 2015 provided 12 residential units within three new timber-frame volumes inserted into the historic shell, increasing the usable surface area from a deep industrial ruin to 1,400 m² of flexible living space and a communal rooftop garden.

This project contributes to the social-ecological transformation through a "house-within-a-house" concept that utilizes unheated buffer zones to extend living areas seasonally, significantly reducing energy demand. By operating as a self-organized co-housing group (Baugruppe) and prioritizing the intensive reuse of original materials—including refurbished bricks, floorboards, and windows—the project minimizes its carbon footprint and preserves the neighborhood's industrial heritage through collaborative, low-impact construction.

City

Dresden

Country

Germany

Use Before

Factory

Use After

Housing

Area After

1.400 m2

Construction

19th Century

Year

2015