House near Bad Tölz

Erected within a period of nine months with prefabricated timber elements, this two-storey, low-energy house reflects the vernacular of the local farm buildings through the use of a few simple details. The transparent areas in the north façade were kept to a minimum in order to reduce energy losses. To avoid extremes of temperature, sliding shutters with louvres set at different angles were installed for the large areas of glazing in the south, west and east faces. The timber stud walls were based on the American balloon-frame system, using full-height elements with continuous vertical members. The walls are in a two-skin form of construction and are braced by the internal plywood lining. The inner leaf, in which the mechanical services are housed, bears the loads from the floor, which stops short of the vapour barrier. This ensured a simple assembly of the house and a safe, airtight construction. The wall is insulated with a total thickness of 22 cm cellulose fibre. The problem of noise transmission via the continuous vertical studs was reduced by building the inner leaf of the wall with horizontal members. The floor is in a simple, hand-nailed vertically stacked plank construction. The advantage of this system is that it allows the use of cheaper offcut products. The floor also has great rigidity, with a structural depth comparable to that of a reinforced concrete slab. No chemical preservatives were used for the wall, floor or roof timbers.