Refurbished house in Egg
Originating from 1966, the Simma House in the Austrian town of Egg was fairly typical for Voralberg's architecture of the post-war period. It had an overhanging, low-pitched roof and the interior was full of nooks and crannies. There was hardly any insulation, which made it difficult to keep the rooms warm. The upper floor under the eaves offered a lot of space for storage, but not much space for living. The client's family and their architect, Georg Bechter, took four years to plan and build the conversion; enough time to carefully analyse the fundamental question of demolition versus conversion. Environmental and economic concerns finally tipped the balance to at least preserve the basement and parts of the ground level. Furthermore, it was the client's intention to carry out large proportions of the work himself, which is easier to accomplish in a conversion, as opposed to a new build.
