Herzog & de Meuron

The house’s site is part of a suburb of small plots, its basically rectangular outline rises from the street to a meadow that is as yet undeveloped. The visible volume of the house is a single-storey parallelepiped. It is made of precast concrete panels held in place by pine slats with a double pitched roof of black concrete tiles that come to rest on a perimeter reinforced-concrete wall. The latter is part of an enclosure that defines both the lower entry court as well as the upper grassed garden. Contained within the base are a garage and an exhibition space.

Continuing the theme of linear configurations seen in previous houses by Herzog & de Meuron, the circulation routes are more differentiated due to the presence of the gallery. The upper floor contains the suite of bedrooms, the wet areas and separate living rooms terminating either end. The spaces in between have a lower ceiling, which allows the house to be read as a singular volume.

The design engages the suburban qualities by restating the self-evident motif. The simple definitions of introverted court and extroverted garden are part of the long tradition of domestic design.