Anika Gründer and Florian Kirfel spoke to us about their move to the German countryside in Thüringen and about opening up an architecture practice there. Next to recuperating the old castle of the small village, they planned and built a wooden shed for leisure and stay.
After their studies and with their first professional experience in Munich, Zurich and Japan, Anika and Florian ventured into the province. Since 2013, they have been living and working as architects and artists in the south of Thüringen - on the premises of the Bedheim castle.
The castle has been in the Kirfel family for many generations, linked to historical up and downs, but now back in the hands of Florian's generation. This long-standing link made Anika and Florian move there initially, with the ambition to renovate the old walls and to reactivate the space, bringing to it a more contemporary approach. Besides running the studio, they also rent out spaces of the castle, run a small café in the garden and promote local agriculture, by keeping the castle's gardens alive.
Our visit to Bedheim was the second stop on our research trip in August. As part of the IBA Thüringen (International Building Exhibition), the "New Remise" was built adjacent to the castle. It is a wooden building that demonstrates how architectural quality can be created in rural areas with simple means and, for the most part, with do-it-yourself construction. Anika and Florian hope for positive effects on the building culture of the region by creating built examples. There is a lot of building going on, but not much quality achieved. We spent our night in this so-called "Sch(l)afstall" and were able to get an idea of the beauty and extraordinary atmosphere of the building ourselves.
Name: Anika Gruender and Florian Kirfel
Location: Bedheim, Germany
Type: Video
Video music by Matteo Silvestri
Turkish spoken by Sevval Öztürk
Posted: 05. February 2021
Categories: architect, germany, localism, raw materials, sustainable design
Anika Gründer and Florian Kirfel spoke to us about their move to the German countryside in Thüringen and about opening up an architecture practice there. Next to recuperating the old castle of the small village, they planned and built a wooden shed for leisure and stay.
After their studies and with their first professional experience in Munich, Zurich and Japan, Anika and Florian ventured into the province. Since 2013, they have been living and working as architects and artists in the south of Thüringen - on the premises of the Bedheim castle.
The castle has been in the Kirfel family for many generations, linked to historical up and downs, but now back in the hands of Florian's generation. This long-standing link made Anika and Florian move there initially, with the ambition to renovate the old walls and to reactivate the space, bringing to it a more contemporary approach. Besides running the studio, they also rent out spaces of the castle, run a small café in the garden and promote local agriculture, by keeping the castle's gardens alive.Â
Our visit to Bedheim was the second stop on our research trip in August. As part of the IBA Thüringen (International Building Exhibition), the "New Remise" was built adjacent to the castle. It is a wooden building that demonstrates how architectural quality can be created in rural areas with simple means and, for the most part, with do-it-yourself construction. Anika and Florian hope for positive effects on the building culture of the region by creating built examples. There is a lot of building going on, but not much quality achieved. We spent our night in this so-called "Sch(l)afstall" and were able to get an idea of the beauty and extraordinary atmosphere of the building ourselves.
Name: Anika Gruender and Florian Kirfel
Location: Bedheim, Germany
Type: Video
Video music by Matteo Silvestri
Turkish spoken by Sevval Öztürk
Posted: 05. February 2021
Categories: architect, germany, localism, raw materials, sustainable design
CONTACT
We're based in Berlin for most of the year. Our mobile office likes to follow our European vision, traveling around to where PIONIRA takes us.
Instagram →
Facebook →
Spotify →
More →
CONTACT
Instagram →
Facebook →
Spotify →
More →
© 2021 PIONIRA
Imprint. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy