Description of property

A few years ago, a special issue of the journal Hochparterre described MISAPOR concrete euphorically: “Even with a wall thickness of 40 centimetres, the necessary level of insulation is achieved.” The idea behind the insulating concrete with expanded glass granulate was to allow architects to dream up monolithic constructions and close the gap between double-shell masonry and fair faced concrete wall. In the meantime insulation regulations have now become so strict that only a 70-centimetre-thick MISAPOR concrete exterior wall will now meet them. That is why the manufacturers developed the MISAPOR concrete CIS, which stands for Core Insulation System. Here the concrete is poured around a thermal insulation layer which is about ten centimetres thick, in a single operation. This type of wall construction forms a compact insulating shell without thermal bridges. Although one can no longer speak of a monolithic construction, the “architectural details” such as monolithic cantilevers or canopies are still quite easy to achieve.
The building is an elegant summer house with lakeside access in Steckborn. The ideal model referred to by the Toggenburger brothers was a holiday home in Denmark, consisting of a residential building and outhouse, where the owners often spent their holidays. The architect Peter Kunz elegantly translated the main idea of structurally separated living rooms and bedrooms into a bungalow-like complex, consisting of a garage and bedroom house on the street side, connected to the lakeside living room and dining room house via a spacious wooden deck. Interior, exterior and in-between blend freely together, creating exciting spatial relationships. And yet the house offers more than just the exclusive lake view.