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Architects: Felippi Wyssen Architects
- Area: 600 m²
- Year: 2015
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Photographs:Valentin Jeck, Mark Niedermann
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Manufacturers: VELUX Group, Etex Colombia, Glas Trösch
Text description provided by the architects. The plot on which this three-story home is built lies slightly below the level of the surrounding area on the edge of a single-family residential district. The response to this difference in level is an intelligently designed semibasement, above which soar a full floor and an attic. The emblematic facade and the carefully dimensioned saddle roof projecting on all sides add an archaic touch to the building. It’s kind of presented on a pedestal.
The eastern part of the semibasement accommodates car parking spaces, on the western side an apartment is stretching over the entire length of the building. In each the upper and the attic floor, two apartments are located which open to three sides. Well defined horizontal layers dominate the visible sides: the partly hidden semibasement, the wide open upper floor and the elegantly tailored roof. Minimally protruding profiles and small plastic [three-dimensional] interventions accentuate the facades, while the wood of the parquet floors and of the sliding shutters forms a warm counterpart to the fair-faced concrete.
In the interior, the access areas have been kept to a minimum while the living quarters have been generously conceived. A wide column grid characterises all floor plans and provides for structural affinities between the different levels. The construction volume draws additional suspense from the alternation between loggias and inside spaces. Floor-to-ceiling doors and passages create intriguing perspectives and attractive spatial volumes. Furthermore, the ground-floor flat benefits from the passage to the green external area which is sheltered by its favourable position.
