This former sacristan’s house and school building in Vorarlberg, Austria, dates from 1774. It is a typical example of a two-storey Upper Rhine farmhouse. Together with the Gothic parish church, the presbytery and the village fountain, it forms an ensemble of great quality. The timber superstructure, consisting of a layer of horizontal beams laced into vertical posts, is set on a masonry plinth. Internally, the most interesting features of the house include the living spaces on the ground floor and the large panelled hall on the upper level, where the old four-part casements with slender glazing divisions still exist. A local couple with three children recognized the value of the house and fought for its retention, deciding finally to purchase and restore it. For the clients and the local conservation authority alike, it was important not to change certain existing elements.