House in Brione

View of entry to the house.

Project Details

• Project Name: House in Brione
• Client: Private
• Project Type: Residential Design
• Principal Designer: Markus Wespi Jerome de Meuron Architects
• Year of commencement of project: 2004
• Year of completion of project: 2005
• Location of site: 6645 Brione sopra Minusio, TI, Switzerland
• Construction supervision: Guscetti Arch. Dipl.
• Engineer: Anastasi SA
• Building physics: IFEC Consulenze SA
• Constructor: Merlini + Ferrari SA
• Carpenter: Erich Keller AG
• Site Area: 535 square meters
• Built-up Area: 155 square meters

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.

The design is generated in response to the chaos of the urban sprawl and conventional attributes of a classical house are thus omitted.

Light is filtered in through strategically placed openings.

Two simple cubes emerge from the hill associating more with the natural landscape than existing building.

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.

View of the interiors of the house.

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.

Credits

• Text: Courtesy of the architect
• Photographs by Hannes Henz, Courtesy of the architect
• Compiled and edited by Mitesh Saraf