Werkraum Bregenzerwald is a craft and trade association established in 1999, uniting craftsmen of different guilds, promoting cooperation and exchange of ideas, run by a headquarter in Andelsbuch. As a joint platform, the Werkraum organises permanent and mobile exhibitions, trainee programs to make crafts attractive for young people and public relations.
Today, it consists of around 100 members representing different crafts and trades. Most workshops are small enterprises with fewer than 10 employees.
Since 2013 the Werkraum points the way forward for the culture of craft techniques in a new building – the Werkraum Haus, designed by the famous Swiss architect Peter Zumthor as a showcase and meeting point. Peter Zumthor is an apprenticed cabinet maker himself and his cooperation with the craftspeople of the Bregenzerwald goes back to one of his best-known projects the Kunsthaus Bregenz.
What started as a regional initiative now receives international acknowledgement as a model for modern craft professions.