House on a Slope

House on a Slope is a minimal residence located in Signau, Switzerland, designed by Jung. The site lies on a strong slope, in an area considered by the authorities to be in danger of landslides. An existing house of the 60’s has been completely demolished until the basement. The new house consists of three floors stacked on each other, proposing levels with very different characters of space and material. Towards the hillside and up until the high of three meters, the building needs to provide resistance to an eventual landslide with an impact of four tons per square meter. These significant static requirements are translated in a three-dimensional concrete structure, that in the back of the house, defines the spaces and the circulation.

The house is entered through the basement floor, where an existing staircase leads in a massive concrete corridor in the back. The tunnel-like space is open at its ends, emphasizing the horizontality of the main floor and leading into the living room. Enclosed by a continuous 75 cm high concrete parapet, the livable space expends towards the outside: a gesture that defines a large space where the border between inside and outside disappears. On top, a light prefabricated wooden construction is added on the massive structure of the main floor. In contrast to the open living floor, this levels present rooms with clear boundaries and a vertical dimension defined by the gable roof. The raw wooden surfaces create a warm atmosphere for the private spaces and the bedrooms.

Photography by Bela Zwygart

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