Oefelein Architecture 

We aspire to create forward-thinking, socially sustainable buildings for our clients that are uplifting and comfortable places to live and work.

Our work involves thinking about space and budget constraints, historical and built contexts, planning and building regulations and innovation in design technology and building, combined with the ever-growing challenges of climate change in a profit driven industry.

We recognise that our work is not just about the buildings. The spaces in between, where people move about and interact, are very much at the heart of communities.

This house in Australia is built on a small 133m² rear block in Highgate, Perth, 10 mins from the city centre.

The size, shape and materiality draw on other local historical buildings in the area, resulting in a compact brick house split over three levels.

The ground floor is a shared space, with living and dining areas overlooking a small garden area orientated towards the sun.  The upper levels have the private spaces, bedrooms and bathrooms. The loft at the top is a open plan multi-use space everyone: for learning, playing, sleeping or even just gazing at the sunset over the city. An open, timber stair connects the levels and has windows for views, light and fresh air.

The exterior red Flemish bond brick was inspired by the primary school across the road, while exposed concrete and timber with large openings on the inside created a warm, light and fresh atmosphere with wonderful views across Highgate and the city skyline.

This house in Australia was built on a small 133m² rear block in Highgate, 10 mins from the city centre.

The size, shape and materiality draw on other local historical buildings in the area, resulting in a compact brick house split over three levels.

The ground floor is a shared space, with living and dining areas overlooking a small garden area orientated towards the sun.  The upper levels have the private spaces, bedrooms and bathrooms. The loft at the top is a open plan multi-use space everyone: for learning, playing, sleeping or even just gazing at the sunset over the city. An open, timber stair connects the levels and has windows for views, light and fresh air. 

The exterior red Flemish bond brick was inspired by the primary school across the road, while exposed concrete and timber with large openings on the inside created a warm, light and fresh atmosphere and wonderful views across Highgate and the city skyline.

This project is for an extension to an existing suburban Californian Bungalow in North Perth.

The family wanted additional open plan living space that seamlessly connected to the outside, yet provided shelter from the fierce afternoon sun.

The solution was to create a new north facing wing overlooking the remodelled garden, protected from the sun through its orientation and the roof overhang or sun filter. 

This allowed the family to blur the boundary between inside and outside living – and experience day and night from inside of the house. 

We contribute to masterplans that aim to make vibrant and beautiful communities with innovative, inclusive and sustainable urban planning solutions, while preserving the vitality and character of established neighbourhoods.

We have been appointed to develop a vision for the Sweetlupin Estate, a collection of historical buildings in Brandenburg near Berlin.

This project aims to bring new life to the existing ensemble of Fachwerkhäuser (traditional German timber framed buildings) and to create a civic heart which leads to a new collection of homes. The project will be powered by an on-site Solar Farm.

Working with Killinger & Westermann Architekten, we have developed proposals in collaboration with our client Magma Rock Estate GmbH for the development of the Heidekraut Quartier Masterplan, located in Schönerlinde, a short distance from Berlin.

This housing development will provide new homes that are in character with the regional Brandenburg context, and put ecological and social sustainability at the top of the agenda.

The now heritage listed Highdeck Siedlung is a large social housing project in Berlin-Neukölln that was designed by architects Rainer Oefelein and Bernhard Freund in 1970.

In collaboration  with Killinger & Westermann Architekten we are investigating a range of regeneration opportunities for our client HOWOGE, a state-owned Berlin housing association.

The images shown above were developed before our work for HOWOGE began and represent some of the tasks ahead.

To commemorate the Heritage Listing of this unique 1970’s ‘low rise – high density’ project the Director of the Berlin Heritage Council Dr. Christoph Rauhut invited Felix Oefelein for an interview to discuss the thoughts behind the design and how the project has faired over time.  Mr Sascha Amler (Vonovia Property Manager Berlin East / Potsdam), who manages the property joined the discussion towards the end to share some thoughts about what the Highdeck Siedlung needs next.

We looked into adding some homes on this unique heritage-listed housing estate, designed by Erwin Gutkind in the 1920’s for our client Vonovia.  A potential opportunity to complement the charm of this era and provide quality homes for future Berlin generations.  

While design ideas always begin with a sketchpad to hand,  our projects are  developed using the latest digital design technology, allowing us to test our design efficiencies with every decision.

Our toolset gives our clients invaluable access to a variety of digital design experiences from 3D diagrams, renderings, QR code panoramas and animations to immersive virtual reality experiences.

We also use our digital models to coordinate our designs with civil and building engineering services and they can be used in BIM project environments.

We were asked by our colleagues at Killinger & Westermann Architekten on behalf of the Humboldt Forum of the Berliner Schloss to generate a digital replica of the Great Stupa of Sanchi.

The original Great Stupa is located within a Buddhist complex in Sanchi, and is one of the oldest stone structures in India, dating back to the 3rd century BC.

Our digital model was given to a team of sculptors who are using it to create a scaled tactile model out of bronze.  The tactile model will be placed next to a new full-scale replica of a Sanchi Gate, being reconstructed by Killinger & Westermann Architekten. 

The new Sanchi gate will be positioned on Unter den Linden,  just outside of the recently reconstructed Berliner Schloss (reconstructed by Franco Stella), which has been home to the Humboldt Forum since 2020.

Exploded Iso – EZONE UWA Perth – © HASSELL

Together with HASSELL’s head of design and BIM leaders we carried out research and development for a company-wide Revit template. The aim was to improve capabilities and the efficiency of front-end design-focused output and create a software-neutral Revit style guide, enabling users to consistently create beautiful-looking design drawings, diagrams and renderings directly in Revit, with little to no post-production in other software platforms.

Accompanied by a kit of tools and training materials, this Revit design template and style guide allows for much-improved visual output and greater efficiency across all HASSELL studios.