The five-storey housing block Oleanderweg 21–45 in the Neustadt district of Halle/Saale, near Leipzig, was built in 1971. It used to accommodate 125 apartments in 13 individually accessed houses. The owner, the municipal housing company GWG Halle-Neustadt, had long been interested in remodelling one of its blocks in a way that would far exceed the standard norm. The International Building...