Washhouse in Lauterhofen
On a golf course in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria, club members erected a sculptural building that could serve as a model for similar structures along cycling or hiking trails. Away from the clubhouse, golf courses typically only offer rudimentary sanitary facilities in plastic boxes or prefabricated garages. The fact that a washroom with a toilet now attracts hordes of architecture tourists is primarily due to Johannes Berschneider, a member and interior designer who was convinced that a sophisticated solution could be achieved even with a small budget. Ultimately, this conviction led to a sculptural building made of grey rammed concrete, mirrored frameless glass, rough-sawn larch wood, and coarse Jura limestone slabs. One of the special features of the 7 m² structure is that almost all the construction work was carried out by the members themselves. Club members felled a spruce tree on the building site and used its wood for the entrance door, collected boulders for the future flooring while excavating the foundation, and met regularly to compact the rammed concrete layer by layer using old golf clubs. The washhouse is only used during the day in summer. Therefore, it has no electricity, lighting, or heating, nor is it insulated. An old cattle trough serves as a sink, ventilation is provided by pipes in the wall, water comes from the mains supply for irrigating the lawns, and sewage is collected and pumped out once a year. The fact that this washhouse and a similarly designed predecessor made of wood not only increase the comfort of golfers but also serve as a model for comparable structures along cycling or hiking trails is evidenced by the numerous inquiries from potential imitators.
