Agricultural habitat

In the north of the Stuttgart region, a climate-friendly farm building is replacing and expanding the ageing existing structure in a sustainable manner. It continues the close coexistence of seasonal work and communal living on a farm in a future-oriented way.

Where the houses of Vaihingen an der Enz end and fields spread out, cyclists on the Enztal Cycle Path will soon pass a slender, elongated wooden building between sprawling greenhouse complexes. In place of the former home of the farming family, a four-storey multifunctional building will soon rise, providing a temporary working and living environment for permanent and seasonal employees. Compactly built on the partially preserved basement of the demolished building, the structure, made of regional, renewable materials, creates space for accommodation, administration and plant seed storage in a resource-efficient manner without sealing additional areas. The timber frame construction of the ground floor allows for flexible, contemporary partitioning of the office areas. Enveloped by reused greenhouse elements, it forms the basis for the two residential floors above, made of prefabricated timber-straw-clay modules, together with the exposed garden floor. Similar to a shared flat, private retreats are grouped around spacious, communal cooking, dining and lounge areas. Complemented by cross-building amenities such as a canteen and sports room, the project exemplifies how places of local food production can be designed in a socially and ecologically sustainable way.

Facts and Figures

Contact

Project initiator

Natterer GmbH Bioland Jungpflanzen

IBA’27 Project manager

Tina Muhr

Aerial View