Location: Santa Domenica (Rossa) in Val Calanca - Switzerland

Main Contractor Ground Works: ITEN Bau AG

We were commissioned to design a house into a steep valley slope amongst dry stone terraces - a retreat for a family spanning now four generations, spending weekends and holidays away from the cities & it is the client's home town - the plot with two older buildings was inherited and we decided to replace an old stable by the road as it offers easier access for elders when visiting then building higher on the slope. 

We intended to adapt to scale and proportions of the houses to the ones seem in the village in an attempt to understand the vernacular. Being the first house of the village we wanted it to be a kind of gate, throning over the main road. The client's background as a master carpenter informed the designs as much as the steep slopes and valley views. 

Ground source heat pumps into solid rock and PV-panel makes this a perfectly modern building seemingly in the middle of nowhere. 