Biohotel in the Apple Orchard

Andreas Hörger’s concept has worked out: The operator of the Biohotel in the Bavarian village of Hohenbercha offers guests simple, agreeable country life at the standard of a four-star hotel rating. Hörger’s wish to live in harmony with the area and nature is also reflected in the architecture of the new guest house designed by Deppisch Architects. The reduced form, the clear arrangement and the use of materials typical for the area create an intense, poetic atmosphere which carefully takes up and interprets the genius loci of the historic apple orchard.

The elongated, two-storey building is heated exclusively with local energy sources. Its effective CO2 emission tends to zero. PV modules on the roof supply all the electricity needed. The materials used are environmentally-friendly and conserve the resources in alignment with the energy concept of the pre-fabricated wood sectional construction. Only renewable or recycled materials were used for the rooms. The generous glazing of all of the rooms face the apple orchard. This allows the guests to observe and enjoy its transformations during the different times of the day and seasons. Insulating glass adjacent to the sides of the clear, floor-to-ceiling high French windows has been fitted with translucent capillary inserts from OKALUX to serve as a screen. Towards the inside, the branches of the apple trees are reflected as a fascinating interplay of light and shadow as the functional glass diffuses the daylight evenly and diffusely into the interior.

The guest house was awarded the European Architectural Prize 2011 Energy and Architecture; only one of numerous prizes it has won since its completion in 2006.