Toggenburg Klanghaus in prefabricated timber

Following designs by Staufer & Hasler Architekten, the Klanghaus is a musical and architectural centre for natural-tone music that is being created by the Schwendisee lake just above Unterwasser. Blumer Lehmann is responsible for planning and implementation of the building shell in the role of joint GC and is a member of ARGE together with Abderhalden Holzbau, Brändle Bedachungen AG and Andreas Bischoff.

The timber structure is built with wood from Toggenburg and consists of several spaces, including four sound chambers featuring exceptional acoustics. This is because they can be tuned just like an instrument. Two outside stages also provide areas for open-air musical experimentation.

The underside of the roof creates a special visual feature with its Free Form geometry. On the whole, the architecture, acoustics and geographical location of the structure, standing at just under 1,200 metres above sea level, make high demands of both planning and implementation. As joint GC for the building shell, Blumer Lehmann is responsible for the timber construction, the roofing and metalwork as well as the light-permeable structural components.

Astrid Staufer at Staufer & Hasler took on the architectural designs by Marcel Meili in 2019, and is continuing the building project and architectural responsibility ‘in the direction and spirit intended’.  

The Klanghaus forms part of ‘Klangcampus’ (sound campus), a wider tourism concept aiming to create a welcoming culture hub for all music and sound enthusiasts and also stimulate the region’s economic development.