Holiday Cottage in the Swiss Alps

Photograph by Hannes Henz, courtesy of EM2N.

Words from the architect

Most holiday houses look identical, i.e. like conventional single-family houses. The topography, character and quality of the location are seldom taken into account in the planning. The houses could just as well come from the catalogue of a company that supplies ready-made homes, their architectural expression is accordingly arbitrary.

Photograph by Hannes Henz, courtesy of EM2N.

Our design refuses to accept colonising a place at this low level, it represents an approach that relates to the place and the wonderful site beside an alpine field that in summer is a meadow and in winter a ski run. On the one hand the house rises vertically in order to capture the spectacular views on all sides, while on the other hand the alpine meadow around the building is left undisturbed. Apart from a gravel approach route there is no fence, no garden design that alters the appearance of the place. Externally the house varies the ubiquitous theme of the chalet with dark wood cladding and small window openings to create the image of a chalet tower with huge panorama windows.

Photograph by Hannes Henz, courtesy of EM2N.

Where does the difference between everyday and holiday living lie?

As an antithesis to living in separate rooms we developed our design from the hypothesis of a single-room house. There are not separate rooms but only vertical and horizontal zones, each of them fulfilling several functions.

The luxury of the house does n

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