eindachhof

What does it mean to transform a historic Black Forest farm into a place for living, learning, and ecological cycles?  The listed Eindachhof in Elzach has lost its original agricultural use after being separated from its former forest and field plots. The former residential and farm building is now being transformed into a place that brings together shared living, craft, education, and permaculture-based land use. The project understands the farm not as a single building, but as part of a larger landscape system. The mill, mill stream, former fish ponds, wet meadow, orchard slope, and spring are treated as connected elements that can be preserved, restored, and carefully reactivated. In this way, the farm becomes a permaculture centre where self-sufficiency, education, and regional exchange form a new model of rural life.

How can a listed structure be preserved while being carried into a new future?  The main building is secured in its defining structure and strengthened through new foundations and an additional timber framework. The moments where old substance and new construction meet become one of the central themes of the design. These connections are not hidden, but carefully crafted and turned into architectural value. Concrete underpinning and new base elements are deliberately made wider than the existing walls and columns. This allows them to be built with precision while creating new ledges, thresholds, and defining elements within the base zone. Resource-conscious and local materials are combined with a clear understanding of building physics. Rammed earth walls provide mass, moisture regulation, and thermal inertia where they are most needed. A new lightweight timber structure creates rooms reaching into the large roof volume, adding a contemporary layer without overpowering the historic structure.

How can contemporary living emerge within a building of low ceilings, a vast roof, and a strong history?  One of the central challenges of the old farm is the limited headroom in parts of the existing structure. The design responds through specific spatial interventions: airy, partly double-height zones connect different areas, open new views, and bring daylight deep into the building. These open spaces create generosity without losing the character of the farm. Living areas, seminar and education rooms, workshop, greenhouse, and service spaces are arranged as a spatial sequence that supports the everyday life of a larger community. The large historic roof structure is treated as a spatial potential in itself. A glazed zone beneath the traditional roof overhang brings light into the upper floor while preserving the familiar silhouette of the roof. The renovation uses natural, robust, and locally available materials. Timber, earth, mineral base elements, and regionally rooted materials are combined with preserved pieces such as fountain troughs, old wooden floors, and restored building elements. The result is not a farm preserved as a museum, but a living place for families, guests, seminars, craft, animals, gardening, and shared learning.