Haus H&DL

Graben, Switzerland

Photo © Rasmus Norlander

Photo © Atelier Werner Schmidt

Single Houses

Architects: Atelier SCHMIDT GmbH

Location: Graben, Switzerland
Year: 2018

The site is located in the midst of a vast and open cultivated landscape in a small village in the Swiss Canton Berne. To build a house on this plot the requirement was set by the monument protection that it should look like an old Bernese farmer house to fit its surroundings. At the same time the landlord wished a modern, light-flooded and self-sustaining house.

The solution was a building that needs as little heating as necessary and produces as much thermic and electrical energy as possible. Inside the house, glass ceilings ensure that daylight can penetrate fully into the whole building. The reduction of inside walls allows the owners to live and work in a big open modern space. The 80 centimeter thick straw-bale walls guarantee minimal heat losses. The electrical and thermic energy gained on the solar roof is stored in a home battery system and in a 5000 l solar tank located in the basement. If needed the house can be heated by the stored thermic energy.

This combination of traditional building techniques and modern technology results in a house that doesn‘t require any additional energy and looks like it has always been there.