L3P Architekten

Description

After subtracting border limit clearances, only 5 x 9 metres were left over on this small plot in Dielsdorf in the Zurich lowlands. With a maximum of 83 square metres above-ground living space, the site was long considered unbuildable. There is no space here for a classic home with thick outer walls, conventional access staircase and circulation areas. In the solution devised, space and structure are one – and the sculptured reinforced concrete framework in black-coloured exposed concrete is omnipresent: walls, ceilings, floors and even the bookcase are part of the framework. The residence is thus reduced to the elementary naked exposed concrete structure, complemented by handmade furniture pieces and enveloped in a glass skin. The subterranean access to the building is through a carport that opens up into a soaring hallway. A double bedroom with bath is likewise embedded in the slope. Ascending the stairs one arrives aboveground before a concrete bookcase that acts as a horizontal bracing for the framework. From here, an ongoing sequence of diverse living areas unfolds, leading across platforms and varied levels. Responding to its vineyard setting, the building emulates the logic of a vine: a supporting middle wall as trunk, and platforms and non-bearing windows branching off like stems and hanging fruit.