09/06/2026
For years, the firm TCHOBAN VOSS Architekten has been committed to sustainable and respectful revitalization. Due to the gradually growing appreciation of existing building stock, an increasing awareness of issues related to sustainability, resource conservation, energy- and space-efficient use, and the circular economy, buildings currently threatened with demolition are increasingly being evaluated for potential repurposing and renovated accordingly. From an ecological and, above all, an energy perspective, renovation is significantly more sustainable when considering the building’s life cycle as a whole. Every demolition results in the release of “gray energy”—the primary energy expended to construct the building.
The renovation project in Neumuenster presented here is precisely such a project: The load-bearing structure of the former Karstadt building, consisting of three building sections (built in 1951, 1962, and 1978), has been largely preserved.
(Images by , except second photo of the Karstadt building by Thomas Robbin / Architektur-Bildarchiv)