For about ten years, artist Oda and designer Axel have been living and working with their son Neo in a former squash hall.
When their previous city apartment in Stuttgart became too small, they looked for unusual properties in the extended metropolitan area. They found what they were looking for in Renningen: Nobody has been interested in the advertised squash hall for a long time. The squash boom is over and it is cheaper and more practical for the industry to build new halls. The creative couple sees this as an opportunity and quickly strikes. Since then, the former sports hall in the industrial area has been their home.
Oda and Axel leave much of the building in its original condition. They do almost everything that needs to be done with their own hands. Their unconventional thinking allows them to reinterpret and repurpose what they have found. For example, the wooden floor, including the old pitch markings, becomes the luxurious parquet flooring of the new living and working studio. Former ventilation pipes become quirky stucco.
The two find most of the furniture through classified ads, on eBay, the bulky waste or build it themselves in DIY fashion. Oda's craftsmanship and creativity turn former railroad ties into benches, and they get used furniture that's too big, too old, or too bulky for others at bargain prices or even as gifts. Much of what they value and use is recycled, upcycled, or repurposed.
The generous space allows them to value objects that seem useless to others. As a result, their son Neo developed an unusual hobby as a teenager: he collects pianos, organs and other keyboard instruments and restores them himself.
Oda Schultz used to design leather bags, among other things. She is now a freelance artist. In her studio and living space she sews, carves, paints and crafts. Axel Schultz specializes in brand, retail and media design. The former squash hall serves as a huge "living space" for everything in the family's life. It is a studio, workplace and private living space.
6 авг 2024
