Architecture / Urban planning
Lahr work group
Client
Irmgard Hupfer, Hotel der Waldfrieden, Todtnau-Herrenschwand
Completion date
2014
Awards
Bauwerk Schwarzwald e.V. Architecture Route 2022, "Exemplary Building Lörrach 2019" award, "New Building in the Black Forest 2016" award, Weisstannen Prize 2016
Design
The existing hotel needed to be modernised and extended to include a spa area. Instead of building an extension, it was possible to optimise without compromise: The new building, the spaHaus, was embedded just 50 metres away in the middle of the pastures, with a wide, unobstructed panoramic view of the nature park landscape. From all rooms and especially from the bathing and sauna area, the view sweeps over the softly flowing meadows and the high forest resting in the background.
Material
The interior of the spaHaus was built using regional materials such as wood and stone. Silver fir - the classic "Black Forest tree" - characterises the warm, cosy atmosphere of the rooms.
Its calm structure, in combination with a clear design line and the highest quality craftsmanship, cite tried and tested characteristics of traditional Black Forest construction. Silver fir also characterises the guest rooms. The custom-made carpentry furniture was combined with light-coloured wall surfaces and soft sand-coloured carpets.
Construction
With the exception of the floor slabs and the underground car park, the entire building is constructed from local softwoods. Visible surfaces were mainly finished in panelling or wood/plaster. The pleasant smell of fresh wood awakens the senses. Stone floors in lively, warm sand-coloured natural tones ideally complement the harmonious overall picture.
Energy concept
The use of tradition is also reflected in the use of raw materials. Outstanding thermal insulation values are a matter of course. Grey water utilisation, the use of renewable raw materials as building materials and a wood chip heating system round off the concept.
The bottom line
In the end, the Black Forest house with its contemporary design and materials and its shingle cladding blends naturally into the regional cultural landscape.
The site-specific language of the architecture should be emphasised: elements of traditional, regional building, such as the single-roof construction with long ridges and deep eaves, the shingling and the timber construction were taken up and identify the building as naturally characteristic of this cultural landscape. Tense proportions, loving attention to detail and the interplay of open and closed surfaces, views in and out, layering and refraction once again situate this solitary building in the present.
