Koechlin House

The architects themselves admit that, unlike most of their work, in this instance they did not have a clear idea of what the house would look like until a long time after work had begun, several months in fact. This may seem strange, since Herzog and de Meuron have deservedly acquired an international reputation precisely for their exterior treatment of buildings.

Unusually, the Koechlin House was built from the inside out. The architects began to work on the idea of a central patio around which all the living spaces of the house would revolve. The patio can be either open or closed. It is closed by means of a sliding glass roof panel that enables the occupants to enjoy the patio area when temperatures are on the cool side.

Later in the year, the patio can be converted into a winter garden. It does not have definite boundaries but can merge into and become part of the living room on the first floor, with a facade window, or it can incorporate one edge of the floor slabs on the second floor to create a terrace. In fact, its boundaries are completely variable since, depending on the areas that are open, it can occupy the entire first floor or confine itself exclusively to the central core of the house.

Location: Mies, Switzerland Year of construction: /996 Builder: W. Ferreira Architects: Herzog & dc Meuron Photography: Margberita Spiluttini

View of the house from the back yard. The window runners are fixed onto the outside of the house so that the glass surfaces project slightly from the gray cement walls.

View from the street. The lower floor is partly below ground level.

Seccion longitudinal.

Koechlin House

Longitudinal section

Koechlin House

Koechlin House

The triangular, funnel shape and sloping floor of the entrance create a visual effect that makes this small entrance corridor look much larger that it actually is. This device was widely used during the Baroque period.

Koechlin House

Koechlin House

Koechlin House

Updated: 29th September 2014 — 1:11 am