Local History Museum, Alberschwende

Alberschwende is a community of over 300 people, located between the Bregenzerwald and the Rhine Valley. The characteristic village centre, with a church, town hall and a country inn, is set amongst traditional farmsteads complete with barns and stables. However, like most of villages of the region, the majority of the agricultural out-buildings lie in a state of disrepair. Their preservation and reuse is of crucial importance for the identity of the original structures and Alberschwende as a whole.

The municipality and its mayor, Walter Rüf, decided to convert an old stable, located in second row of the village centre, into a small agricultural museum which could double as an attractive venue for small events, meetings, concerts and festivities. In the course of the renovation, as much of the old building fabric was preserved as possible. Silver fir, a traditional local material, was used for the extension and fittings, producing a delicate dialog between the clean, abstract details of the new intervention and rough surfaces of the existing structure which bear testimony to the craft tradition and harsh living conditions of the past. Two large skylights and a wide footbridge highlight the new use that the building.