Architecture Wednesday: Lake House

This one is giving me James Bond, which I will always take. This sculptural lake house on Lake Geneva, Switzerland was, believe it or not,  built as a family home, and not a rapper’s crib.

I love the angles of the house itself—it’s a triangle—in the walls and windows, with sharp angles and soft curves and lots of glass. But the basic triangular shape of the home was dictated by strict planning parameters and prohibitions which made the house literally take shape. The response was to carve shapes from the triangular footprint of the site and then create a sculptural design of round‐edged cubes and triangular masses.

A double-volume living area, with a curved glass wall facing the lake, flows into the dining area and kitchen on the ground floor while the bedrooms and en-suites are located on the top level, accessed by both a spiral staircase and a circular glass-encased elevator.

As I said, Bond, James Bond … with a view …Expansive windows help to blur the indoor-outdoor boundaries while framing sweeping views of picturesque Lake Geneva.

As always, click to emBIGGERATE ...

OneKindDesign

Architecture Wednesday: Bornet House

I’ll be honest; I do love a grand home, rustic, or sleek; country or city. But they always seem to be kinda big. Then I found Bornet House, a beautifully rustic, vintage, and small, barn that has been transformed into a minimalist luxurious getaway.

Bornet House sits in the countryside of Ollon, Switzerland, still bears a lot of its original masonry from its barn days, which adds that historical character and charm, even though much of it resembles rubble lo these many years since it was built.

On the ground floor is a singular, open space for the kitchen, living room and dining area. Closer to the entrance, the main bedroom actually sits on a higher level, slightly, built up on a sort of wooden pedestal.

But that difference in levels gives the bedroom and public spaces some sense of privacy, as though it’s its own little escape. At the same time, the fact that it sits only slightly higher than the other rooms and isn’t closed off at the top affords the living room a double height ceiling, making it feel even more open.

In terms of materiality, the inside of the house is cohesive to the outside; the tones of the natural materials outside of the house match the stonework and concrete floors of the interior. In addition, the designers opted to stay true to the history by refraining from altering the walls and yet and they also accounted for the way it sits on a slope as well, One space was altered though; in the rebuilt wall, a window was added to take in an unobstructed view of the Rhone Valley. And a small terrace opens off the bedroom giving the homeowner a chance to interact with the people passing back and enjoying the ancient village.

The final area of the house, not always visited by guests, is the basement, which houses a home office and a sort of plant room,  which is actually partially underground thanks to the way the land the house sits on slopes.

It’s not big; it’s not grand. But I could be quite happy at Bornet House.

Click to emBIGGERate ...

Savioz Fabriaai Architects

HomeDSGN

Architecture Wednesday:The Paper Clip

They call it the Flexhouse, but it looks like a Paperclip to me ... or a Sled ... or a Waterski, which might be best since the home sits very near Lake Zurich.

It’s a tall home—four floors—but not terribly large, at least by American standards—just 1,862 sq foot—but it’s so wide open it feels much bigger.

There’s a basement level for the garage and utilities; the first floor features an open plan living, dining and kitchen space on the ground floor; on the second level are two bedrooms, while the third floor features a studio with two large terraces.

But it’s the striking exterior, and the home’s 180-degree views across Lake Zurich that really captures the imagination.

Flexhouse is also anything but a normal square box. The design features a floor plan that goes from wide to narrow to follow the railway lines and shape of the plot. The façade wraps around the building, drawing the eye upward making the house feel like it’s moving, bending ...

Like a paperclip.

Click to emBIGGERate the floor-plans ...

HomeDSGN