DF_DC
Pyramid House
best architects 22
single family homes
Place
Tegna, Switzerland
Studio
Photos
Simone Bossi
Description
This single-family house for a young couple
and their two daughters is the result of our research into the possibilities of
contemporary living in a quiet suburb. The local planning guidelines allowed us
to build ancillary volumes all the way to the boundary. This made it possible
to avoid a typical suburban typology: a volume surrounded by residual greenery
that cannot really be used. As a result, the L-shaped house extends completely
along the site boundary on two sides with a larger garden to the rear. The garden becomes the point of reference to the ground floor areas thanks
to continuous glazing, which is made possible by the load-bearing wall that
tapers above it. From the outside, the house presents itself as a hermetic,
introverted volume, while inside an unexpectedly strong connection to the
garden is revealed. At this point, the double volumes created by the roof and
the elliptical concrete staircase acts as a counterpoint to the wide openings
to the garden. The upper floor has a reduced surface area as a result of the
pitched roofs and accommodates the bedrooms. Their privacy is maintained thanks
to the sloped roofs, which have openings. Throughout the project, concrete is
used in different instances both as structure and finished surface. The massing
and material concept required for even the garden gate to be built in concrete,
in keeping with the external wall.