Building & Investment (Nov - Dec 2015) (Nov - Dec 2015) | Page 11

Project Highlight

Exterior view from the pool.

Former farm in the Bavarian forest
turned into a family hotel
The team at noa* (network of architecture) transforms the family hotel Ulrichshof,
a former farmstead, into an exploratory world of senses.

Interior with double-volume height.

THE FORMER farm located in the Bavarian
forest in Germany, is a building with a long
history – and that was what inspired architects
Lukas Rungger and Stefan Rier of noa* to
come up with the idea for a sustainable resort.
“During the initial design phase, we
walked for hours in the nearby forest and
sometimes we sat in the old barns to get
inspiration”, says Lukas Rungger. The darkness
of the woods evolved into magical stories of
foxes, fairies and ghosts.
In re-inventing the Ulrichshof, the
architects were careful not to construct any
structure that is higher than the surrounding
Bavarian forest trees. The glazed facades of the
lobby and the interior space mimics the forest
while animal imprints are carved onto wood
panels to remind one of being in a natural
habitat. The full-height glazed panels opens

up to the grand views of the surrounding
environment. At the central lobby, there are
bridges, paths and alleys. Curtains, lamps and
sofas are all inspired by the magic of the forest.
The composition for the resort interior
is based on the story “The Child’s Need for
Magic” by Bruno Bettelheim. “There is no
need for extra elements to tell about the
mysterious world of the myths and legends”,
says Diana Gallmeier, a Munich-based
psychologist who worked with noa* on this
project.
The annex of the hotel covers a total area
of 35,000 sq metre. The building connects the
existing space of the hotel with the barn. The
centre of the ensemble is formed by a glass
cube which hosts the lobby and lounge of
the hotel across three levels. The connection
of the old and the new is created through a
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