Alsace Traditional Building Techniques

There has been and there remains today a strong Germanic influence on the architecture found in the Alsace region of France. Alsace house types and the materials used can be categorized in the wide German «pan de bois» (half-timbering) architectural family. This architectural family uses many local symbols and decorations. These symbols appear on porches, doors and on the pieces of wood used to make the half-timbered walls.

Due to the climate the roof of the typical Alsace property is predominantly steeply pitched (up to 60 degrees) and the typical roof covering is made of flat clay tiles (tuiles écaille alsaciennes) which are specific to the Alsace and neighbouring areas of north eastern France. Tuiles écaille alsaciennes tiles are also called “queue-de-castor” tiles, this refers to their shape, similar to that of a beaver tail. This type of tiles is also common in the Jura, Savoie, southern Germany and in Switzerland.

Use of wood in the Alsatian house building process In Alsace wood is used due do the proximity of many forests and the abundance of skilled carpenters in the area. Wood is easily transported and adapts well (resistance and insulation) to the Alsace climate that can be quite extreme during winter.

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Wood also offers better resistance to subsidence and movement caused by earthquakes, this is due to its greater flexibility. Oak trees were often used by wealthy families to build houses while modest families often used wood from fir trees, which was cheaper and more readily available. A common practice in the construction of wooden houses is to use the best quality wood (oak) for the front and the immediately visible parts of the house. A very common house structure in Alsace involved a split construction method where stone is used for the ground floor and half-timbering for the upper floors. This practice began after periods of war and bubonic plague, when villages were often burned down. To prevent the collapse of the upper floors ground floors were built of stone and upper floors were built of half-timbering, this effectively prevented the spread of fire. The lesser quality wood, in this case Fir was reserved for the back and hidden parts of the house.

Use of stone in the Alsatian house building process Stone is traditionally used for the base of the house, the porch, the cellar door structure, the well, the kitchen basin, other practical usages where wood cannot be used. As a result stone masons are not heavily used building the build process of a traditioanl Alsace House. Instead they just build a few important elements, most notably the most important wall, connecting the kitchen to the main room of the house and ensuring the chimney works well.

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Summary of Alsace Traditional Houses

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