The protected knitted structure of the house was in good condition; in contrast, the dilapidated outbuilding, which had been used as a storage shed, had to be demolished. The western outer wall of the main house, which had consisted of strap boards, could not be preserved either.

The house on the Buechberg in Thal lives from its 300-year history. All the owners and residents have left their traces. With a lot of curiosity and the desire to discover, we dedicated ourselves - together with the building owner and the cantonal monument preservation office - to the exciting house and its different layers. Our goal was to preserve as much of the original substance as possible and make it visible, as well as to transform the old farmhouse into two new residential units that meet today's needs with a view of the surroundings and Lake Constance.

The conversion and renovation concept is based on three strategies: The extension by a volume in the size and proportion of the former stable barn, the replacement of the northern annex, which could not be preserved, by a new building also of the same size, and the upgrading of the core building. The new additions not only gained living space, but also reduced the "pressure" on the existing building. Massive interventions such as the merging of rooms could be dispensed with, as enough additional space was created with the two new living halls.

In this way, the typical knitted construction was preserved.

Both inside and outside, spruce wood is at the centre of the materialisation. In contrast to the horizontal boarding of the main building, the annexes were given vertical cover strip boarding. This extends over the window areas with gaps as partial mobile privacy and sun protection. This was not necessary for the north-facing panorama windows. The appearance of the extensions is still reminiscent of the earlier farm buildings through the interplay of large, projecting and receding façade surfaces with varying materialisation, thus subtly moving the renovated core building into the centre.

Excerpt from the annual report of the cantonal monument preservation office: «... The building owner has succeeded in finding a consensus between the new living comfort requirements and the preservation of the historical substance. The architects have made it possible to continue building on the existing structure with simple, stylistic and material means...»