Fuchsegg Eco Lodge in Vorarlberg by Ludescher Lutz Architekten

The Fuchsegg Eco Lodge in the Bregenz Forest embodies the idea of sustainability in its hotel concept. The architecture of the wooden buildings by Ludescher Lutz Architekten plays a significant role.

Rough-sawn silver fir, casein-clay flooring and fireplaces: the Fuchsegg Eco Lodge in the Bregenz Forest receives its guests in spaces whose special atmosphere and natural resources make them particularly attractive. The new hotel encompasses six buildings constructed in Vorarlberg’s wood-building tradition and scattered over a mountain meadow in Schetteregg, around 1000 m above sea level. Ludescher + Lutz Architekten designed the saddle-roofed buildings to be similar to those found on the Vorsäss.

In the Alemannic Alpine region, a Vorsäss is a settlement that serves as temporary summertime accommodation for the farmers and their livestock before they move to higher areas. The Eggartsberg Vorsäss is about one kilometre away from the hotel and is a perfect example of this special Vorarlberg tradition.

The spatial program

For Carmen Can, who built and operates the hotel along with Heinz Hämmerle, the regional building typology and artisanship are important components of the holistic hotel concept, which revolves around sustainability. The inn in the main building on the road receives day visitors as well. Apart from the restaurant, it is home to meeting rooms, the library and the games room. The guest units themselves are distributed over three other buildings and offer accommodations ranging from simple rooms to apartments with kitchens and separate entrances.

Guests can heat the rooms with their own fireplaces, which ensure a pleasant indoor climate, particularly in the winter months. Bicycles are parked and wood for the fireplaces is stored in the unheated barn. Wellness fans among the guests can escape the quotidian in the small sauna house, which also offers breathtaking views from the quiet room over the picturesque Alpine landscape. The individual buildings are connected via outdoor paths: in Fuchsegg, the conscious experience of nature in all weathers is part of the overall hotel concept.

The rooms are equipped with fireplaces that guests can light themselves. © Günter Standl

Regional building culture

The exterior facades of the wood-hybrid structures are clad with local fir. The window bands are concealed behind adjustable wooden slats, and covered verandahs take up the tradition of the Schopf [Engl.: crest] from the region’s building traditions. The interior as well relies on resources from the renowned Bregenz Forest artisanship. Walls and ceilings alike are clad in rough-sawn silver fir; the floors are of oak or casein clay. Even the furniture is characterized by regional expertise. Most of the wooden tables, upholstered furniture and built-in cupboards in the guest rooms come from local workshops.

The covered verandahs were inspired by the Schopf from the Bregenz Forest’s regional building tradition. © Günter Standl

Energy concept

The hotel is connected to the new biomass-based district heating system, which is fueled with waste wood from the area. Heat pumps, photovoltaic systems and charging stations for electric cars are included in a sustainable holiday concept that operates with a view to energy consumption as well. Ecological building techniques and top-class hospitality come together here in this godsend for the guests who come for relaxation and skiing or meetings and seminars.

Read more in Detail 3.2023 und in our databank Detail Inspiration.