The old glazier's house in Affoltern, Switzerland, was on the verge of decay 250 years after its construction. The many small panes of glass in the windows had shattered and the roof was leaking. The monument preservation authorities of the Swiss canton of Bern had already written off the building. This is because they are responsible for Affoltern in the Emmental.
Glazier's house now completely renovated
But a few years ago, the two architects Christian and Elisabeth Anliker began to completely renovate the building. The lush window front on the south side of the building is still reminiscent of the old glazier family who once built the house. In addition, many elements from 1765, when the house was built, are still preserved. These should be preserved as much as possible during renovation and refurbishment.
For this reason, the building was first carefully dismantled and the old building materials were used again during the reconstruction. The old building envelope was combined with the latest building technology and aesthetics.
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The heating system was converted to a modern heat pump. The electricity for the heat pump is supplied by a large building-integrated photovoltaic system which covers the entire roof and at the same time serves as a water-bearing layer and thus as roofing.
This in-roof system was a solution to reconcile the protection of historical monuments with the photovoltaic system. Because was definitely intended to supply the complete energy for the house. That was clear from the outset.
You can read about the energy standard achieved by the building and how the entire energy system is structured in the full project report, which you can find in the database of the Solar Age architecture platform.
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