Description

The house is entirely laid out for a sensory experience. The sculptural and freely composed external wall is not only a facade, it turns toward the surroundings in an almost bodily manner: at times offering grandiose views of the mountain landscapes, at times closed off and inward.

The double winding stairs tie all rooms together in a single dynamic movement. They are a spatial element that at times cuts into the building mass, at times appears as an object in space, winding around the chimney and thereby making it the center; being twined around the rooms, so to speak, thus defining the character of the floor plan.

Between building skin and circulation, the open living space is organized into niches and various usage areas by the chimney, the inserted kitchen block and the bench facing in two directions. Every opening is devoted to a special situation on the interior or exterior: the recessed loggia, the funnel-like view to the outside from the eating nook, the inserted opening at the bench and the large window overlooking the valley. The room disposition continues throughout the house in similar fashion. The geometry of the two hallways, at the entrance and above in front of the bedrooms, mediates between the spaces and the stairs. The house itself is like a body and extraordinarily comfortable: here, functionality does not remain schematic, but is rather entirely conceived for the enjoyable use of the house.

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Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fourth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2011.