A historic home built before 1308

The old residential building, which was built before 1308, is part of the well-known Tempelhof in Mainz, close to the popular Kapuzinerstraße. Behind a five-meter-high wall including a castle-like archway, the old residential building has the character of a historic castle. After an extensive renovation phase, the building, which is open to the public, now has seven cozy apartments.

During the exploratory phase, the clients decided to implement the renovation using ecological building materials. The priority was to use recyclable materials, so composite materials were out of the question. The choice thus fell on the use of circular clay building materials; these can be reused anew, as often as desired, and in a variety of ways over decades. The environmental impact of clay unfolds according to the "cradle-to-cradle" recycling principle. The use of climate-friendly, circular and pollutant-free clay building materials thus supports the sustainable goal of "building without waste". The clay block heavy NF 1800 and the clay masonry mortar heavy were used for the infill of the framework between the apartments. The client made a conscious decision to use heavy clay building materials to optimize soundproofing. Walls made of earthen building materials prevent disturbing reverberation and loud noises and have a natural sound-absorbing effect. In the premises, the walls were insulated with the HFD interior insulation board. Subsequently, the clay adhesive and reinforcing mortar, as well as the primer DIE GELBE were applied. DIE GELBE creates the ideal substrate for the application of the YOSIMA clay designer plaster. For a particularly noble surface, the YOSIMA loam design plaster was chosen as a colored wall design, and in some areas the loam top plaster coarse with straw was also used. The roof areas were insulated with wood fiber insulation. In addition, ESB boards were used instead of OSB boards. Odenwald boards were used for the ceiling areas between the wooden beams. Both panel variants were also reinforced with the clay bonding and reinforcing mortar and primed with DIE GELBE, for the final application of YOSIMA clay design plaster as a surface finish.

Craftsman's workshop: BB Ökobau und Service GbR

Photos: Matthias Bender