With a great deal of commitment and support from many companies, a ski factory in Baiersbronn has been renovated into a special residential facility with holiday flats for families with children requiring ventilation.
Since the summer of 2015, the Luftikus children’s home has been a new residence for children in need of intensive care with perspectives for child-oriented development. Located on a beautiful, picturesque hill in the Northern Black Forest, the former Morlok ski factory was transformed into a cosy living facility with a wheelchair-accessible garden for ventilated children and teens. In the venerable Black Forest tradition, wood, in its many facets, was used to create an especially homelike atmosphere in a place where modern medical standards and professional ventilation management are required in everyday life. The prevailing atmosphere is one of security. Half of the existing building could not be preserved and was replaced by a new building in the spirit of building culture. Wood was used in a wide range of forms in both the old and new buildings. In addition to the primary wooden supporting structure, wood fibre insulation in panel form was installed under the wooden formwork, which covers a wood fibre insulation that is blown in between the wooden supports. Wood fibre insulation was even used in the construction of the floor and finished with solid wood flooring. Old wooden doors were carefully removed from the inventory, restored and reinstalled elsewhere. All windows were realised in wood with triple glazing. Even the old floorboards in the attic were carefully removed, refurbished and reused on the ground floor as a soffit that functions as an acoustic ceiling. Wood was also the solution for supplying the building’s energy. The entire energy-saving building and its hot water supply are heated by a pellet heater. With respect to building culture and ecological responsibility, the many uses of wood were fully exploited to create a harmonious whole. The project illustrates the endless potential applications of wood in all its versatility – 360° wood!