This project, designed by Swiss firm Philippe Stuebi Architects, is set on a quite difficult and highly regulated plot of land. These constraints, plus the owners’ brief, have brought out a four storey building with an irregular polygonal shape. Seen from the street side, the house has a more common look, with an underground garage an a quite neutral facade.
The surprise comes when looking at the house from the sides and from the back, where there are more irregular shapes plus a bolder mix of colors and textures. Contrary to what one would expect from such a modern house, the interior spaces are not widely open. Given the particular shape of the house and the need for very specific rooms, the house is divided vertically and horizontally in many smaller spaces, with well defined functions. The layout is based on the enfilade principle, where you enter one room from another. This is of course the case for the communal spaces , such as living areas, offices or other shared spaces. The private spaces such as the bedrooms are placed strategically in the layout so that they keep their intimacy. The most impressive part of the house however is the double storey library nested at the back side of the polygon.
The house is characterized also by multiple access ways: two staircases and an elevator.One of the staircases depart from the library area leading up to the second storey of the library, but also to the rest of the second floor.
On the first level, the library follows the shape of the room like a lining to the glass walls. The library is see through and its degree of transparency is actually regulated by how much the shelves are filled with books or objects. This bottom part of the library also serves as a display for objects that can be admired from inside or outside.
The floor of the ground floor is covered with white and grey marble all over. The height of the ceiling varies from space to space, some areas having double height and some single height. In order to mark the transition from one space to another, some corridor walls are painted a bold fuchsia color.
The same bold fuchsia covers the walls of the carved-in balcony, making it stick out from the white facade of the house.
Even though it is divided into smaller rooms, the house remains filled with light thanks to a careful placement of windows and overhead lights.
The interior design is rather minimalistic, with well chosen design furniture pieces and artworks.
The outdoors spaces that surround the house on three sides are easily accessible through sliding glass doors.
This detail image captures the essence of the materials and colors that characterize the house.
