Markus Benz, company director of prestigious furniture brand Walter Knoll, and his wife Susanne wished to find a Stuttgart base that would enable them to offer their business partners an alternative meeting place to the company headquarters 40 km away in Herrenberg on the edge of the Black Forest – and to live there too. The family found a property in the Kräherwald, a popular location above the city, and moved into what is known as a ‘coffee-grinder house’, typical of the 1920s. The house used to function as a doctor’s practice, so the layout was restored in line with its original purpose and with respect for the building’s structure and history. On one hand our task was to create a home environment that suited the family’s discerning aesthetic demands and offered a framework for their art collection. On the other hand, products from Walter Knoll were to be staged in an authentic and atmospheric context, far removed from

On the other hand, products from Walter Knoll were to be staged in an authentic and atmospheric context, far removed from trade fair and showroom presentations. Haus Benz is an apartment and not a showroom. The owners’ brand and product world are displayed within a context that stands for the Benz family: a vibrant and very personal apartment, filled with artworks.