wespi de meuron architects
Sep 30, 2014
wespi de meuron architects
Brione House / Wespi de Meuron
28
Jan 2009
By Nico Saieh — Filed under: Houses , Selected , Stone, Switzerland, Wespi de Meuron
Architects: Markus Wespi Jérôme de Meuron architects
Location: Brione sopra Minusio, TI, Switzerland
Construction Supervision: Guscetti Arch. Dipl., 6648 Minusio
Engineer: Anastasi SA, 6604 Locarno
Building Physics: IFEC Consulenze SA, 6802 Rivera
Contractor: Merlini + Ferrari SA, 6648 Minusio
Carpenter: Erich Keller AG, 8583 Sulgen Project year: 2004-2005
Photographs: Hannes Henz
The new building is located in a privileged but sprawled urban area above Locarno, with
an overwhelming view on the city, the surrounding mountains and the lake.
The project is a discrete reaction to a daily subject: to build into a crowded and chaotic
urbanized area.
Therefore all attributes of a classical house were totally omitted.
Two simple steaning cubes are emerging from the hill – fragmentarily – more associated
to the landscape than to the other existing buildings – more alike a wall than a house –
and time less.
Habitable interiors are generated through cavities.
Two similar big openings, with wooden grids serving as moveable gates, are providing
access and view.
Additional light is taken in through courtyards.
The water of the swimming pool, embedded in the valley facing cube, merges perfectly
with the lake.
Exterior view
of the
residence
realized as two
cubes
emerging from
the landscape.
The Building
The residence is
located in an up
market urban sprawl
above the city of
Locarno. The site
affords panoramic
views onto the city,
its surrounding
mountains and lake.
View from within the interiors of the
house onto the swimming pool.
Light is filtered in through strategically
placed openings.
Habitable spaces are generated as
cavities within the interiors of the cubes.
Light is filtered into the interiors through
strategic openings and through the
courtyards.
Two large openings, with wooden grids
serve as moveable gates.
The water of the swimming pool,
embedded in the cube facing the valley,
visually merges with the lake.
The new building is located in a densely
built-up villas on Locarno district, with view
on the city, lake and mountains. Only two
simple cut, mutually staggered stone cubes
work out from the mountain. Additional
light is taken in through courtyards. The
water of the swimming pool, embedded in
the valley facing cube, merges perfectly
with the lake.
Brione House, Brione sopra Minusio,
Switzerland, by Markus Wespi Jérôme de
Meuron architects
via: Arch Daily
Wood House // Caviano // Switzerland // Wespi de Meuron
The house by Wespi de Meuron is located in an area of new buildings outside the historical center of
Caviano, with a wonderful view on the lake and the mountains.
With its silver-dark-gray color and pure shape the house takes itself inconspicuously back and connects with natural stonewalls of the surroundings rather
than with the heterogeneous buildings.
A hillside volume extension embodies the house with
the mountain and enables a direct access to the upper house level.
The irregular window setting is melting the floors to a unit without recognizable partitioning.
Large space-strutted panorama openings alternate
with small square ventilation windows.
To achieve an optimization of costs, it has been
chosen a prefabricated timber construction, a compact volume, simple details and low cost materials.
At the inside the prefabrication is recognizable – the raw wood elements remains visible and are painted
with the same silver-dark-gray color as it was used for the timber facades.
Project year: 2008
For more pictures visit: www.wespidemeuron.ch.