Located in the medieval centre of San Candido/Innichen, Schäfer Roofscape is a newly-completed restoration and conversion of a historical building. 

SCHÄFER ROOFSCAPE

TYPE Residential, Interior, Renovation
STATUS Commission, Built
LOCATION San Candido/Innichen, Italy
YEAR 2012 - 2014
CLIENT Private

DESIGN TEAM Eva Castro, Ulla Hell, Holger Kehne, Peter Pichler, Maya Shopova, Chuan Wang
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​PHOTO CREDIT Michael Pezzei, Holger Kehne

The first three storeys house a department store while the upper three storeys serve as four large, independent apartments within the formerly underused attic space. The building faces a public plaza protected by local regulations, thus, efforts were directed towards its rear facade. This west-facing elevation explores how slicing and folding can be employed to expand the limits of the widespread pitch-roof typology: large glazed balcony slots produce bright, contemporary living conditions and generous exterior expansion space within this dense urban situation. A marked departure from the neighbouring vernacular buildings.
 
From the outside, the pitch-roof typology seems to continue, however, the interior unfolds in a differentiated faceting, benefiting from generous light entering through diagonal openings. Light enters the space and views are created, while glimpses inside remain denied.