wild bär heule architekten

Description

The brief was to renovate and extend a detached family house, situated on a hillside with a panoramic view of the town of Rapperswil. The design proposal aimed to accentuate an essential characteristic of the existing building by carefully positioning pine and birch trees. The building’s close interaction with the garden is thus be emphasized and its style and ambience remain unbroken. The entrance to the house has been relocated from its current central position to face the street. Setting the garage at a lower level allows light to enter along one side of the central corridor. The formerly inconvenient access to the cellar was improved by simple means. In order to accommodate the extension of a part of the living quarters, situated a semi-storey higher, the site was raised. This also enables the kitchen and dining area to be extended. The architect’s search for cladding for the façade was fruitful: they come across an unusual, albeit quite pedestrian solution, namely, bricks laid lengthways in a ‘cross bond brickwork’ style, such as one finds in soundproofed walling. This creates a particular look, a raw, ‘clayey’, perforated surface. This ‘cross bond brickwork’ style, combined with dark aluminium profiles, culminates in an architectural style that perfectly complements the building’s original period features.