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.
Dresden
Germany
Factory
Housing
1.400 m2
19th Century
2015