There are barn conversions and then there are barn conversions, if you catch our drift. This project by Lilitt Bollinger falls into the latter category. Ha! The former stable in Obstalden, Switzerland is set in an idyllic mountain surrounds. Having been crudely renovated into a holiday home in the ‘80s, the architects were faced with low 2.2m room height and unfavorable exposure, with the house mainly open to the North. They worked to open up the space, both internally and to the mountain and lake views. The structure is characterized by pale timber, with some surfaces stained emerald green in harmony with the surrounding nature.

Original stable roof trusses spanned across rooms. Taking advantage of this, Lilitt Bollinger removed all non-structural walls on the ground floor, creating a large open space around a timber core. Kitchen, living, office and recreational spaces are arranged around it in fluid concession. On the northeast and northwest façade, the house looks onto a lake view in the distance via a glazed ‘window box’ constructed outside of the original supporting structure.

Lilitt Bollinger transformed the original entrance from the street into a large, tall window. This both allows for hillside views across the mountains at the same time as bringing the midday sun into the house. In deciding what pre-existing elements to maintain, the architects considered both cost and telling the story of the house. Some original elements that were inconvenient or slightly incongruent were kept deliberately, remaining in the house as references to past iterations.

[Photography by Mark Niedermann.]