House Hoinka / Atelier Kaiser Shen

Pfaffenhofen is a small village near Heilbronn. It is characterized by an idyllic setting with a church, and half-timbered houses dating from the 16th and 17th centuries in the center of the village, with vineyards rising picturesquely in the background. The village center is now being redensified with a residential building in a cubature typical for the region, which is extraordinary in several respects. For one thing, the way it is built reflects the client’s mindset and area of work. As far as possible the aim was to realize a building that was ideally made from natural and renewable raw materials which can be re-introduced into the natural cycle.

We are at the foot of the majestic Volcán el Altar, at an altitude of 2,800 meters above sea level, in the Inguisay Sector (the Bocatoma of the Río Blanco). The Zoila Martínez Workers' Association promotes community tourism and environmental responsibility. With new initiatives aimed at finding a balance between modernity and the traditional vernacular architecture of the area, it has created four mountain lodging shelters designed to offer panoramic views of the Andean moors.

In late 2020, La Seigneurie Funeral Home approached ultralocal architects to undertake a major renovation and expansion of their building in the Beauport neighborhood of Québec City. The initial request was to double the existing floor area by adding a second level. However, early in the design process, our team proposed a different, more meaningful approach: to expand horizontally rather than vertically.

This house was built in the 1980s, following the design codes of the time: a semi-subterranean ground floor housing the garage and boiler room, a raised floor above the garden for the living areas, and an attic converted into bedrooms. In the early 2000s, an extension was built on the garden side to accommodate a large living room, but it quickly showed signs of deterioration. After a decade of legal proceedings, the owners were finally compensated for the damages suffered. They then decided to move on from those difficult years by considering the construction of a new house. However, the architect proposed a different approach: to retain as much of the existing structure as possible and demolish only the damaged sections.