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.