Roman Hutter Architektur: Residential House Reckingen - best architects 22

Roman Hutter Architektur

Residential House Reckingen

best architects 22

single family homes

Place

Reckingen, Switzerland

Photos

Markus Käch

Description

Since the house for a young family is located on the edge of the village, it was decided not to use the traditional log construction, but a further development of it. This is in deference to the historic village centre, where the houses, some of which are over 500 years old, are black-fired and stand in close proximity to one another. In this house, the log construction is literally turned upside down – so that the structure is located inside the building and thus determines the atmosphere of the rooms. Moreover, the timber walls of untreated spruce are joined vertically rather than horizontally. Overlaid boards of larch wood clad the house. Also in the vertical, the boards are overlapped, thus creating purely wooden weather protection. In addition to the load-bearing exterior walls, six columns demarcate zones of space on the first floor – each held by four glueless wall timbers. Around the soapstone stove, a larch staircase leads to the upper floor, which is characterised by its chamber-like spatial structure. Four neutral-use rooms each face a different direction, creating their own atmosphere. As the openings are fixed-glazed, ventilation is via small windows, each of which affords another, more intimate view of the landscape. The heating system also relies on the renewably sourced wood – the double-height soapstone stove warms the rooms and provides hot water. It thus forms the heart of the family home and contrasts with the two softwoods from the region.