The building is 250 years old and has been repeatedly extended and renovated over the years due to changing usage requirements and the neglect of aesthetic aspects. When it was purchased, only a major renovation of the interior and exterior was originally planned. The building ended up being fully renovated to take into account new energy specifications, the requirements of the different user groups, building regulations and, of course, aesthetic considerations. The former main building now once again features the traditional solid wood formwork, while the extensions have been fitted with modern slatting. The idea of decorating the façade came about as a solution for how to further emphasise the original building and present it as a semi-public property from the outside. Instead of approaching this with painted or carved forms, we developed a modern form of the regional tradition of papercutting, and now an 18-metre-long artwork adorns the south façade, which was made by scaling up a paper cut-out by Esther Gerber to 15 times its original size. The original hangs in the entrance of the apartment and is 1.2 meters long. Similarly, the entrance doors to the holiday apartment and the spa have been decorated with a paper cut-out by Esther Gerber and the under-roof detailing on the west and south sides was designed as paper cut-outs, as a modern interpretation of this typical decorative element of Emmental farmhouses. Thanks to the art of papercutting that Esther Gerber specialises in, the new Roggegratbad is now visible to the outside world as a house of art.

When the property was taken over, the surrounding area consisted largely of a tarmac car park for guests of the restaurant that was there at the time, and the rest of the site was more or less a well-tended meadow without a single tree or shrub growing on it. Taking into account the ideas for the site’s new use, the garden was redesigned based on traditional farm and restaurant gardens, consisting of an orchard, vegetable garden and shaded seating areas. While the pictures in the spa and holiday apartment pay homage to Brigitte Buck Litscher and her work, the outdoor area is a tribute to Heiko Schütz. Standing free on the lawn of the holiday apartment, the “Fizzing Head” – a self-portrait of Heiko Schütz with all his bubbling ideas – is intended to refer to his work and influence. Other examples of his work can be found both indoors and in the gardens.