Felsenburg House in Biel, redesigned by Sara Gelibter Architecte, transforms a modest renovation into a bold vertical extension after hidden structural issues were uncovered. With active input from the artist clients and creative reuse of salvaged materials, the project embodies resourcefulness, collaboration, and continuity - an architecture that turns constraints into opportunities while respecting history.
Project Info
Project Name: Felsenburg House
Location: Biel, Switzerland
Architects: Sara Gelibter Architecte
Manufacturers: CEMENTORESINA (CR) by Kerakoll Design | Carat Coral 7031 by Swisspearl Group
What began as a modest refurbishment for an artist couple in Biel unfolded into a bold architectural reinvention. When Sara Gelibter Architecte discovered that the house’s long-neglected roof was structurally compromised, a simple renovation grew into a transformation: the creation of a new vertical extension that redefined the building as a contemporary landmark.
From Industrial Shed to Vertical Landmark
The Felsenburg House carries a layered history. First built as a shed for the local wine industry, it evolved through decades of industrial use, fragmented expansions, and a conversion into a youth hostel in 1968. Later domestic adaptations diluted its integrity, yet these irregularities created the foundation for a radical gesture: a new “house on top of a house”.
Zoning allowances enabled the addition of a full top floor, not only restoring functionality but also shielding the home from the noise and climate of the adjacent railway. In this way, the extension became both a protective buffer and an elevated retreat, orienting life toward views of the Alps.
A bold ‘house on top of a house’ rises from Biel’s industrial past
Timber Innovation and Circular Building
The extension’s timber structure was prefabricated off-site and assembled in a single day with the aid of a helicopter - an operation that minimized disruption and embodied efficiency. Clad in fiber cement panels, the new volume balances lightness with resilience, chosen for its sound insulation, low environmental impact, and potential for reuse.
On the rail-facing side, windows were closed to reduce disturbance, while generous openings frame the Alpine landscape, grounding the home in its setting.
Generous new openings frame sweeping Alpine vistas
Reuse as Design Language
Resourcefulness became a defining theme. The internal staircase was salvaged from a dismantled theatre, its proportions fitting the new height exactly. Temporary roofing elements were repurposed for insulation and even for furniture, layering the new house with fragments of its own making.
The clients themselves were active participants, weaving their ideas and hands-on efforts into the fabric of the project. Their integration of salvaged materials imbued the home with both practicality and poetry, merging personal expression with architectural clarity.
The internal stair finds new life at the heart of the home
Custom, low-impact furniture integrates seamlessly with the home’s material palette
Minimal, light-filled interiors balance industrial memory with contemporary warmth
Carefully placed windows invite shifting daylight, animating interiors throughout the day
A Testament to Continuity and Change
Felsenburg House exemplifies how architecture can transform structural limitations into opportunities for reinvention. It acknowledges its industrial and domestic past while projecting a contemporary identity rooted in sustainability, collaboration, and contextual awareness.
In the end, the project is more than a renovation - it is a meditation on continuity through change. A house layered in memory, material, and meaning, Felsenburg stands as both a personal home and a public statement of resilience, creativity, and care.
Photo Credit: Cyril Käppeli
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