Modernization and extension by Georg Bechter Architects

Combining old and new without slipping into banality is one of the biggest challenges in remodeling. In the Bregenzerwald, Georg Bechter Architects have struck just the right note with the careful modernization of an old vacation home.

The road winds in curves from the small community of Langenegg up the hill to Rotenberg. At the top of the hill stands a vacation home from the sixties. It offers its inhabitants an enviable view in the direction of Lake Constance as well as of the highest peak in the region, the Damülser Mittagsspitze.

Modern nostalgia
The plain wooden house had long served well, but offered little space. To expand the living space, Georg Bechter Architects raised the gable roof and created a modern upper floor that blends as harmoniously as it contrasts with the rest of the house. The original rooms have lost none of their rustic, alpine character, yet have gained in brightness and spaciousness. "Existing building fabric and new spatial qualities meet and make up the special characteristics of the house," explain the planners. "Thus, old and new merge in the air space, and the darkened paneling of the existing structure blends into the new walls of silver fir."

Two colors of blue
In the new attic living-bedroom area, two large picture windows open up unobstructed views of the rural surroundings, while other skylights let in large amounts of natural light. Niches clad in turquoise-blue felt offer retreats and provide accents to the minimalist wooden interior. The architects paid special attention to coordinating the electrical installation with the colorfulness of the felt. Thus, they opted for the classic LS 990 switches from Jung in bleu céruléen 31, a shade from Le Corbusier's copyrighted architectural color system. The switches of the Les Couleurs® Le Corbusier series are hand-painted in an elaborate process, giving them a silky matte surface that impresses with its special aesthetics and feel.

This successful symbiosis of craftsmanship and architecture shows how well tradition and modernity can be combined in contemporary buildings. Thus the vacation house in Rotenberg reflects a pleasing tendency, which can be observed increasingly in the alpine region: Here, a small-scale construction industry is giving rise to veritable architectural gems.

PHOTOGRAPHY Adolf Bereuter
Adolf Bereuter

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