The typology of the villa is interpreted in the form of a smaller, concentrated volume with three residential units. The structural transformation of the Bruderholzquartier, which was formerly populated with villas and assembled houses, is followed by a replacement building which refers in its habitus to a villa, though contains several apartments.
The building's predecessor was designed in the mid-1950s by the architects Löw and Manz (Basel), which belong to the SWB (Schweizerischer Werkbund); and the small freestanding structure, with its pavilion-like appearance, was a typical representative of this time. In the context of the curved streets, the stately homes and the spacious gardens at the foot of the Bruderholzquartier, a new replacement dwelling was not only driven by economic and energy requirements, but also by the task of sustainable compaction.
The creation of two independent, vertically organized apartments and a granny flat with direct access to the garden allows the residents independence within a multi-family dwelling.
In massive construction, the house rises on the slope along the Wolfsschlucht. The polygonal building body forms a well-defined destination at the end of a private road which runs over a small valley. Laterally and towards the Wolfsschlucht gorge, the double dwelling units, visible from the entrance, merge into one volume. The polygonal form of the brightly plastered outer wall with the green stone aggregate is followed on the inside by a room-depth layer. In its center lies a pentagonal core with two spiral staircases, surrounded by the living and sleeping areas which are arranged in open spatial sequences that are able to create specific situations through narrowing and widening. They are dressed in a clay plaster, which promotes a cozy and earthy living environment, in combination with the stoneware, wooden floors and the chalk-white ceilings. In contrast, comparatively barren in its appearance, the staircase is formed with unfinished concrete. All living spaces are aligned with the garden by means of oversized windows, held in smoky-green frames. The two-storey openings pierce the roof edge and give the monolithic outer wall a constitutive form. Surrounded by old trees, the inhabitants share the roof terrace and the forest garden, without individual boundaries.
