Schneider & Schneider Architekten: Split-Level Homes, Aarau - best architects 23

Schneider & Schneider Architekten

Split-Level Homes, Aarau

best architects 23

single family homes

Place

Aarau, Switzerland

Photos

Roger Frei

Description

The site is located in the garden city of Aarau. Characteristic for the neighbourhood are scattered development and the image of a lush green urban quarter. These principles are embraced by the new building, which joins two existing houses to form a trio sharing a common garden and plot. The house was embedded in the terrain without any major changes being made to the site. The typology of the split-level house thus follows the different heights of the terrain, with three staggered half-storeys connected by open staircases. The house accommodates a main apartment with 6.5 rooms and a smaller one with 2.5 rooms. The façade is made of black burnt spruce topped by a band of sheet copper. This roof edge refers in its height and oxidised shade to the eaves of the pre-existing neighbouring houses. At the same time, the horizontal tri-partition of the façade echoes both the adjacent houses and other, classically influenced, buildings in the garden city. The mural base section forms a connection from the forecourt level via the cemetery wall to an elevated garden on the south side.