La Chalette’s exterior.
Roland Halbe
Martin Ohlf converted a tractor shed into a tiny house in Lenzkirch, in the Black Forest, Germany.
In 2020, the Association of German Architects awarded Ohlf the Hugo Häring Prize for the house.
Take a look inside the award-winning tiny house.
This is an edited, translated version of an article that originally appeared on October 31, 2021.
“La Chalette” is an award-winning tiny house in the village of Lenzkirch, in the Black Forest, Germany. It stands on the site of a farmhouse that dates back to 1659. Martin Ohlf, a German architect, designed the tiny house.
“We left the outside of the building as it was and just insulated and converted the inside,” Ohlf told Insider.
The old barn door and one of the terraces.
Roland Halbe
In 2020, the Association of German Architects awarded Ohlf the Hugo Häring Prize — an architecture prize for exceptional buildings in the German state of Baden-Württemberg — for the tiny house, with the judging panel citing “the intelligent use of space to the sensual and meaningful joining of new and old.”
The architect has since set about remodeling the main building on the farm, and he said he’s had several requests for other tiny-house conversions.
The living room and fireplace.
Roland Halbe
The house is 3,280 feet above sea level, so Ohlf said it can get pretty cold in the winter — as low as 4 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit. But, he added, he had a fireplace and underfloor heating in the bathroom and kitchen installed to fight the cold.
The walls, floorboards, and doors are made entirely of silver fir. “That’s typical of the Black Forest,” Ohlf said.
The living room and stairs up to the bedroom.
Roland Halbe
The house can accommodate up to four people; the sofa can be folded out into a sofa bed. “I would say it’s perfect for two, though. With four people, it can get pretty cramped,” Ohlf said.
He went on to say that upstairs is a cozy sleeping loft, and through the door is the kitchen, the dining area, and the bathroom.
The bedroom.
Roland Halbe
The bedroom has a large skylight that allows tenants to look out at the starry nighttime sky. The bed is 5.9 feet across and 6.6 feet long, and tenants can pull it apart and turn it into two single beds. It comes with built-in cupboards behind the headboard, Ohlf said.
He said the kitchen is equipped with a stove, an oven, a dishwasher, and a refrigerator. There’s also a small apothecary cabinet, which tenants can pull out.
The kitchen.
Roland Halbe
In the back, Ohlf has added a small bay window with seating and a dining table. Tenants can fold the table up if they want more space, Ohlf said.
The dining table.
Roland Halbe
“The bathroom was very important to my wife. She really wanted a bathtub,” Ohlf said.
The bathroom.
Roland Halbe
“I didn’t want a shower in the bathtub. It was important to me that the tub was freestanding,” he added.
Ohlf said the window is lowered so that tenants can see out of the bathtub, but keep their privacy.
“Besides, you very rarely see anyone from the cottage. People don’t go by there very often,” he said.
Another view of the bathroom.
Roland Halbe
The small table under the sink is part of an old sewing machine, Ohlf said, adding that, on the left, there’s an infrared heater where tenants can preheat or dry their towels.
The front door and the wooden terrace.
Roland Halbe
The house has three terraces. According to Ohlf, the sun rises outside of the terrace by the old barn door, making it a perfect spot for breakfast.
The side terrace faces west and features sun loungers and a parasol. The small wooden terrace at the front of the house also leads to a path that takes residents to the local village, Ohlf said.