Herta Mohr started as a beautiful piece of structuralist architecture, consisting of 7 ‘houses’, and designed by Joop van Stigt in the 1970s. During the renovation by De Zwarte Hond, the middle house was demolished and replaced by a new heart and main entrance. The central hall with its new roof lets in abundant daylight and fosters encounters. Additionally, the second floor was replaced and the building expanded with an eighth house. The renovation also prioritised sustainability by reusing most of the original building and façade, including the old wooden ceiling panels and concrete columns.
De Zwarte Hond is a design bureau for architecture, urban design and research, founded in 1985, with offices in Groningen, Rotterdam and Cologne. The company is made up of some 100 people: architects, urbanists and other creatives, who work on projects characterised by blending in, yet being special.