Haldenbach cooperative housing

About the project

This cooperative housing development in Ganterschwil, St. Gallen, brings nine apartments in two solid-timber buildings to the heart of the Toggenburg countryside — a deliberate counterpoint to fast, conventional construction.

The buildings are a modern interpretation of traditional Toggenburg architecture, built almost entirely with wood from eastern Swiss forests and prefabricated by a local timber builder just down the valley. Solid stacked-timber floors and four timber storeys keep the carbon locked in for generations.

Developed by the non-profit NAWOBA cooperative for affordable rural living, the project combines minimal energy demand with smart building automation — modest in scale, exemplary in approach, and certified under the Rainbow Standard.