LAUBENHAUS APARTMENTS DESIGNED BY ROLF MÜHLETHALER IN LANGENTHAL, SWITZERLAND

The Laubenhaus apartments in Langenthal, designed by Rolf Mühlethaler Architekten, reinterpret the traditional gallery-access housing typology through a contemporary lens rooted in constructive clarity and timber architecture. Built on the former site of a flower market, the project preserves the memory of the site through two existing greenhouses integrated into the garden, quiet remnants of its past use. 

Comprising 25 rental units, the building is structured around a modular exposed timber system that shapes both its architectural expression and interior atmosphere. Continuous access galleries run along the façade, acting as transitional spaces between public and private realms while encouraging social interaction among residents. These galleries are enhanced by textile exterior curtains, which provide both climatic protection and visual filtering. 

The apartments follow a rational and efficient layout: entry is made directly into the living and dining area, eliminating circulation space. A compact central core accommodates services, bathroom, shower, and storage, freeing the surrounding space for flexible use. Living areas face the street, while bedrooms are oriented toward the quiet inner garden, ensuring a quieter domestic environment. 

The project’s constructive logic is legible and consistent: load-bearing façades and longitudinal walls structure the building and transfer loads, while layered wall and ceiling systems integrate insulation, fire protection, and technical networks. Materials are left in their raw, untreated state, reinforcing an architectural language of honesty and material authenticity. 

Within the broader context of contemporary timber housing, Laubenhaus aligns with a growing European interest in collective residential models that combine environmental performance with social spatiality. Comparable approaches can be observed in projects such as the “A Wood Residence of 3 Apartments in Cristinacce (Corsica)” by Orma Architettura, where small-scale collective living is explored through a sensitive insertion into a rural landscape, or the “Wood Collective Housing in Saint-Mandé (Paris 12)” by Mars Architectes, which investigates timber construction within a dense urban context. And in a more nuanced way, but also interesting, "The forest bath housing" in Eindhoven by GAAGA.

Together, these projects highlight a shared architectural agenda: the use of wood as a structural and expressive medium, the rethinking of collective housing typologies, and the creation of intermediate spaces, galleries, logias, or terraces, that mediate between individual space and communal life. In this sense, Laubenhaus stands as part of a broader discourse on sustainable, socially engaged timber housing, while maintaining a distinct identity rooted in its site-specific history and constructive rigor.

project: Laubenhaus Blumenhalle Hausermann 

architecture: Rolf Mühlethaler Architekten + www.rolf-muehlethaler.ch

location: Langenthal, Switzerland

typology: housing, collective, residence

year: 2024

status: completed, built

TECHNICAL DRAWINGS

Explore more collective housing projects on da.paper here.
Don’t miss our Wood House section for further insights into contemporary timber architecture.