Last week during our daughters’ fall vacation, we visited the French town of Colmar with Annette’s family.  I am all for making old buildings more energy efficient, but being in Colmar reminded me that some buildings with poor energy efficiency are “good enough” as-is.

Colmar is located in the Alsace region of France, but its culture is a mix of French and German elements. From the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s, France and Germany exchanged control of the region four times. Places with names like “Kayserberg“ and “Herrlisheim-prés-Colmar“ reflect that tangled history.

Most striking to me was Colmar’s “Vieux Ville” — the historic town center.  Annette and I pay attention to buildings, and we are used to seeing a handful of artfully-restored half-timbered houses in the centers of European towns.  But Colmar has what must be hundreds of lovely tipped, sagging, bowed, and angled-but-still-standing half-timbered houses. Neither Annette nor I could recall being in a place where so many half-timbered houses have been so well preserved.

Part of the old town — Colmar’s “Little Venice” — is laced with narrow canals.  We took a boat tour, and our guide told us that the Germans did not bomb Colmar because they knew that its beautiful buildings were built by German carpenters.  I wondered whether the guide told the flip side of that story to French tourists (“the Allies did not bomb Colmar because they knew of the beautiful buildings”). Regardless of the specific causes, I take the survival and restoration of these wonderful old buildings as further evidence that buildings which can be loved are more likely to endure than those which cannot.

My interest in buildings extends to real estate markets, and I often find myself pausing while passing the storefronts of real estate agents. Colmar was no exception.  I was surprised to find charts projecting energy use and greenhouse gas emissions displayed prominently for each property listed.  I suspect that these charts are required by law.  My German relatives tell me that similar information is required for all real estate transactions in Germany, and that landlords must provide energy-use information to any potential tenant who requests it.  I know that similar requirements are being discussed in the US, but I don’t know of any areas that have implemented them.

The energy-use charts I saw in Colmar had me thinking about how one would go about energy-retrofitting the old half-timbered buildings.  Doing this cost-effectively while preserving the original materials would be difficult.  You are not going to add four inches of foam and a layer of stucco to these buildings, nor are you likely to replace the windows.  I suppose that after mitigating any issues with moisture, one could insulate the roofs, perhaps add interior “storm windows,” and try unobtrusively to seal air leaks.  However, these buildings don’t look like candidates for anything approaching a “deep energy retrofit.” I don’t see that as a problem, because there are so many other buildings that are.

Our daughters sometimes accuse Annette and me of wanting only to look at old buildings when we travel.  This isn’t really true.  While in Colmar we had several fun outings, including a tour of a medieval silver mine, and a lovely (but damp) hike.  Photos from those activities, as well as more photos of old buildings, are in the Gallery.