An abandoned hospital in western Germany, originally built as a monastery, has now become an office designed by David Chipperfield Architects.
David Chipperfield's Berlin studio transformed the former St Vincenz Hospital in Paderborn, to create a new headquarters for Tap Holding, a family-run company that owns several businesses in the DIY-craft market.
This involved removing various extensions added in the aftermath of the second world war, revealing the historic walls that were previously covered, and adding three new office wings.
The 17th-century chapel facade was preserved
Tap Holding called the project Jacoby Studios, after the family that runs the company.
"The Jacoby Studios create a new urbanistic whole out of fragments," said David Chipperfield. It is an approach he has become known for, on projects like the Neus Museum in Berlin and the Royal Academy renovation in London. "The project combines a wide range of the practice's experience ? reinterpreting historic buildings, combining the old with the new, balancing landscape and building ? to provide a comfortable and stimulating workplace," he said.
A historic cloister sits at the centre
The design team focused their attention on the most historic parts of the 17th-century structure. Removing all of the 20th-century extensions and modifications, they were able to uncover the original quarry-stone masonry.
The best examples of this include the original chapel facade, with its steep gable pro...