You will find a brief description of Halen and the building history below. If you wish to visit the inside of a Halen house while being on a trip through beautiful Switzerland, please contact us at info@halen.ch well in advance. We should be able to find someone to show you the "secrets" of Halen. If there is some organizational work to do (groups visiting; putting together documentaries) we may charge a little fee for visiting). You will find the conditions of a "guided" tour in this additional paper.
From the book "Wohnort Halen; eine Architekturreportage / Anhang" (Tschudy-Verlag St. Gallen und Stuttgart, 1964, B0000BGI97). Many thanks to the Authors, Esther Thormann-Wirz and her husband Fritz Thormann, who still live at Halen, and to the Niggli publication company, that still has the copyright, for authorizing the publication.
The site: 24'720 m2 of building land and 6'155 m2 of wood. Slope 16%. Common property; 13'955 m2 of land plus the wood. 10'765m2 are privately owned by individual householders.
Total living area (including exterior walls, roof gardens, store beside the entry, but without cellar and balcony) 13'454 m2. Garage, central heating plant and laundry 1'956 m2. Site ratio = 13 454 divided by 24'720 = 0,54.
The total cost for the building, land, services, professional fees and all extras: CHF 10'000'000.-- (1964! Today it would probably be the ten fold amount). It provides 81 privately owned units (nowadays: 84). The population 160 adults and 116 childern (1964! The population has shrunk down to about 250 people). Owners are of the following professions (1964!): 13 architects, 2 interior architects, 7 government employees, the Secretary of the World Post Union, the Secretary of the Swiss Traders Union Federation, 2 foreign diplomats, 2 engineers, 2 doctors of science, 1 doctor of chemistry, 1 doctor of law, a physicist, a chemist, 3 university professors, a university sports instructor, 3 art teachers, a painter / art-teacher, a teachers' training college instructor / writer, a dramaturgist / writer, 2 graphists, a painter / graphist, a cartoonist, a choir master, a pianist, 3 editor / journalists, a playing field expert, a flower shop owner, a printer, 2 managers, a retailer, a chemist, a scientific advisor, an antiquary, a book-keeper, an optician, a shop keeper and a care-taker. Ten of these carry on their profession partly, or wholly in Halen.
Legal points (is still valid nowadays!): Whoever buys in Halen is the sole owner of the piece of land on which his house stands and part owner of the common property which consists of: roads, paths, open spaces, swimming pool, sports equipment, laundry, garage with service station, the caretaker's house (first house in the lower row) and the wood. Inhabitants of the upper rows have their gardens on the roofs of buildings which are not their own property. They have the legal right to use roofs which do not belong to them in this way. The Right of Way for maintenance of common services which run through privately owned property is guaranteed in the Land Register of the Commune. This proved to be the simplest solution.
The Owners' Association: It is inscribed in the Register of Commerce. It includes all proprietors. The Association has the responsability of administring the common property. Its rights and duties stop at the border of privately owned property. The monthly contribution for upkeep is CHF 20.-- per house (2004: CHF 96.-- a month for administration; CHF 60.-- a month for renovating purposes). The caretaker is a full time employee (nowadays: 75%).
The construction: Halen is built in the conventional way although prefabrication would have been well suited to this problem. This latter was thoroughly studied during the planning stage in 1956/57 together with the contractors. A rational system which would have met all the requirements, was at the time not available. The exterior walls are of Durisol, party, and partition walls are in concrete block. Only the facade, and party walls are load bearing. Floors, balconies and foundations are in concrete. Concrete is used only where it is statically necessary or where its use derives from structural logic. All houses are completely separated from each other, only foundations and the roof finish are continous. Party walls are double: two leaves of 12cm each with 8cm between them. No pipes run through these walls, each house is connected directly to the central duct and all joints are sound insolated. The duct is large enough for a man to walk in. Only small elements such as staircases, handrails, eaves details are prefabricated. Inside the houses walls are plastered and painted white, the concrete ceiling is painted.
The architects (1964!): Atelier 5, an architectural office in Berne, is responsible for having planned and built the Siedlung. They also undertook the selling of the houses. Atelier 5 is an architectural association consisting of Partners (in the sixties, when Halen was built): E. Fritz, S. Gerber, R. Hesterberg, H. Hostettler, N. Morgenthaler, A. Pini, F. Thormann - collaborators: A. du Fresne, R. Gentner, Ch. Heimgartner, D. Roy, B. Stelber, F. Tomarkin - and other employees, students, apprentices and secretaries. The partners have formed themselves into an unlimited company, the members of which are jointly responsible in all financial matters. The team has been in existence for ten years. Strong legal ties reduce the possibilities of conflict, as no individual works for personal benefit. Each member feels that a group effort is more effective than working alone.
History of the project: 1954: first contact with die owners of the land. 1955 March: first project as basis for discussion for buying contract. This contract is negotiated with a Building Society, interested in the project, which commits itself to buying the land within two months of a building permit being obtained, and after that to finance the construction. The architects undertake to submit a project for building permission not later than 1st december 1955. 1955 Dec.: Submission for building permission. 1956 March: The project is voted on and accepted by the Commune of Kirchlindach. 1956 June: Building permit is granted. The Building Society is unable to fulfil the contract. Through the good offices of Dr. Rud. Steiger, architect BSA of Zürich the project is submitted to Herr Ernst Göhner (E. Göhner AG, Zürich). 1956 July: Herr Göhner lends the architects CHF 600'000.-- at 4% until the end of 1957. All the six architects and their engineer are personally liable for this sum. 1956, 31st. Aug: Atelier 5 buys the site. 1956 Sept.: Founding of a Company for financing the whole project. 1957: The project is developed and the finance scheme is arranged. 1957 Dec.: The National Bank restricts credit, financing becomes almost impossible as no first morgage can be obtained. Herr Göhner extends his loan until May 1958. 1958 March: Finance succeeds. A Foundation guarantees part of the first morgage, and the can be obtained from Bernese Banks. The company which was formed for financing the scheme in 1956 is desolved. E. Göhner AG, Zürich becomes the direct client on the condition that the architects accept financial liability. The architects also have to undertake the selling of the houses. Göhner AG guarantees all necessary capital as result of which building credit becomes available. 1959 Feb.: Construction begins. 1959 Oct.: Exhibition house is opened and sales begin. 1961 Nov.: Construction is finished. End of 1963: all houses are sold.
Engineering work carried out by E. Pfister, Ing., Olten. Interior of shop and restaurant by H. Eichenberger, Interior Architect, Berne.
You will find further information on Halen through the links on the page "Wohnen & Sehen".
