Garden-House-and-Raftsmen’s-House

Where a small square once marked the threshold to the medieval city entrance, the ensemble of the garden house and raftsmen's house appears. Originating from a supply station for raftsmen at the river harbor, which was already completely ruinous, the garden house, converted in a first step, forms the opposite side of the historic customs house. We call it the garden house because we inserted it as a new concrete structure into the ruin's inner courtyard, almost invisible in the overgrown garden.

With its secluded nature, the area creates a sense of tranquility, yet is simultaneously open to guests who wish to retreat and immerse themselves in a place of being. We like the words "refugium," "laboratorium," and "klausur" to describe its content. A refuge that expresses a desire for escape. A "laboratory" because it is intended to foster the desire for concentrated thinking, working, and experimenting. A cloister for people who come together in seclusion to develop creativity.

In the enclosed garden there is the solitary farmhouse – ‘the Gardenhouse’, or rather, what remains of it. Childhood memories of ruins spring to mind. The remaining outer walls create a large courtyard, into which the new building has been inserted. A house within a house, in other words. Two courtyards that connect to form one space beneath the small new building.

Directly adjacent to the former farmhouse, the opportunity arose to expand the site with the second section of the old raftsmen's houses, a semi-ruined house dating from the mid-16th century that originally served as overnight accommodation for the raftsmen.

The original raftsman's house contained a horse smithy, sleeping quarters, and several cooking areas, the remnants of which can still be seen in the vaulted ceilings. We also rebuilt a wooden conservatory that had long since been removed. Today, there are three residential units on three floors.

We extended the recessed wall of the garden house entrance to clearly define the newly created square. Between the houses, a stairway leads down into the garden next to a terrace high above the river. The river here is an inviting place for swimming.

Material The raftsmen's house itself has been restored with materials that are touchable through their tactile qualities: the lime for the plaster was slaked on site, the roof is covered with fiber cement shingles, the casement windows are made of larch, and the conservatory is clad with local fir slats. When exposing the plaster layers, we were astonished to discover floral frescoes on the south façade, which could be preserved as period windows. Since they were visible both in places along the pilaster strips and in the interstices, it's likely that the entire street side was once painted in extremely colorful ways.

The historic brickwork of the Gardenhouse is interrupted on the north and south sides by a simple concrete structure. A surrounding concrete grid frames the historic mixed brickwork. The lack of insulation and the projecting facade create a purist concrete look. All surfaces of the house are finished in oak.

Concept. Context & Strategy The historical traces had been somewhat blurred. The new garden wall now traces the narrow alignment of the Haratzmüllerstrasse, emphasizing the old threshold and receding to the level of the customs house gable. The new widening in front of it creates a square again, which also leads to the new entrance. From here, the garden house is only visible as lush greenery protruding beyond the wall. A wall-high brass door leads into the entrance courtyard.

Thus, the old walls ultimately became a unified whole, which we were able to combine into a space for concentrated work, cultural activities, and living, nestled in the large garden in the heart of the old town. Using existing structures in densely populated areas shows the natural path to our built future in terms of resource conservation and social sustainability.