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Forschung für die Wissensgrundlage

Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Altbauflair

English translation:

stylish period building

Added to glossary by Sarah Bessioud
Dec 17, 2010 09:37
13 yrs ago
German term

Altbauflair

German to English Bus/Financial Tourism & Travel
This term occurs in an advertisement for a holiday rental apartment in the following context:

'Diese charmante Dachgeschosswohnung befindet sich in der idealen Sportregion – Surfen im Sommer, Skifahren im Winter- und ist nur wenige Gehminuten vom Zentrum entfernt. Die in den 50er Jahren errichtete Wohnung bietet ein repräsentatives *Altbauflair* und wurde vollständig renoviert.'
Proposed translations (English)
4 +4 stylish period building
4 +1 period charm
4 the flair of a building from the fifties
4 old building feel OR atmosphere
4 historic ambience
4 stylish elegance of an older building
3 Charm of a vintage building
Change log

Jan 10, 2011 09:59: Sarah Bessioud Created KOG entry

Discussion

Ellen Kraus Dec 17, 2010:
Altbau in German usage has nothing to do with hundred year old building or historical building. It´s nothing else but old fashioned ,no longer particularly sought after. except by people who, for some reason or other,get nostalgic bout this period of time. it´s the after war period. the flats were simple and modest, bathrooms, if any, were tiny, ceilings were low,etc. At most one could say a building which conjures up the flair of the fifties or nostalgia
Michael Wetzel Dec 17, 2010:
building from '50s or apartment? Everything is possible when it comes to advertising, but I have never heard anyone refer to a building from the 1950s as an "Altbau". A converted attic hardly fits in with a building from the 1950s either. Could it be that the apartment was created at that time in a significantly older building?
Would something along the lines of "Victorian flair" (very very rough parallel for Gründerzeit) maybe be appropriate?

Proposed translations

+4
22 mins
Selected

stylish period building

The advertisement obviously aims to sell the apartment, so I would avoid any mention of the word "old", which may tend to imply run-down. "Period" is often used to sell up houses that are too young to be classed as historic and too old to be classed as modern ;-)

A rough translation for example - the building, dating from the 1950s, is a stylish period building that has been fully renovated.
Peer comment(s):
agree Mech White
1 hr
Thank you Mech
agree seehand
4 hrs
Thank you seehand
agree Dominic Sargent : this sounds good
5 hrs
Thanks Dominic
agree Werner Hehn : An excellent explanation of the most appropriate term!
4 days
Thank you Werner
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
7 mins

the flair of a building from the fifties

I would say
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10 mins

old building feel OR atmosphere

It's referring to the feel or atmosphere created by the fact they've retained the old building style by renovating it.

Put the term in Google and you'll find lots of references to it.
Reference:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=altbauflair&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLL_en-GB

Peer comment(s):
agree RegineMac : I would add "comfortable": ... has the comfortable feel of an old place, yet is completely renovated. - I think that's what they try to say. It's inviting, warm, cozy like an old place, yet modern in its outfit.
7 hrs
Yes, I think adding "comfortable" conveys that even better!
disagree Katherine Wootton Joyce : I don't think you would find the phrase "old building" anything in marketing material. It's too vague and doesn't sound positive in the way Altbauflair does.
13 hrs
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37 mins

historic ambience

What I would use!
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9 hrs

stylish elegance of an older building

the appartment has the stylish elegance of an older building
Example sentence:

Built in the fifties, the appartment has the stylish elegance typical of an older building

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+1
8 hrs

period charm

I would say this was the equivalent term, but since you have 'charming' earlier in the pgh you could maybe use 'character' here instead.

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Note added at 14 hrs (2010-12-17 23:39:33 GMT)
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e.g. This 1950s flat/apartment offers traditional period charm and has been fully renovated.
Peer comment(s):
agree RachelG : Yes, I think there is emphasis here on the 'charm' of the place being from another era, so yes 'period charm'.
2 days 3 hrs
Thanks Rachel!
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19 hrs

Charm of a vintage building

Vintage Charm Beautiful Hardwood Floors Great Location
Vintage Charm Beautiful Hardwood Floors Great Location (Bixby Knolls ... Gated property, - Small building, - *Vintage building* ...
losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/apa/2108890979.html

http://www.5homesforsale.com/Vintage-Charm-HUGE-Living-Area-...

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Note added at 19 hrs (2010-12-18 04:47:25 GMT)
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apartments in Hyde Park - Chicago Apartment Finders provides a ...
Enjoy the charm of vintage-style living while benefiting from all of today's technology. ... provides all the unique historical *charm of a vintage building*, ...
www.chicagoapartmentfinders.com/Searchresults.aspx?...id...
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