Built on the south riverbank of the municipality of Bernex, on the edge of the wine-producing countryside outside Geneva, this house has two faces: the first one, of small scale, evokes a mod- est garden fence, while the second, grander one, reveals the steeply inclined setting. The project’s overarching concept emerges from a cross-section: the upper side features a single opening, signaling the entrance; the lower side features a single long window opening out onto the majestic landscape of the Aire plain and the skyline of Mont Salève. A concrete base conjuring a bridge anchors the villa to its sloping land and bears a larch structure, appearing as a nearly weightless pianonobile from the lower side of the plot.

The geometry of the plan accompanies the tight limits of the property, the slope of which is also the theme of the project’s composition. On this almost inhospitable land, the only horizontal line is that provided by the home, making sense of the idea of living just here. Against a central axis, the project lays out its functions, articulates its spaces and accommodates it use through a system of slid- ing doors that orientate the living areas.

The villa’s open structure leaves the door open to a future extension, with the large covered space filled in principle by a winter garden. The design of the wooden vertical cladding places the small structure into its wooded environment by creating an echo between the varied vibration of the trim and the swaying of branches in the wind.

Material Used :
1. Helfer – Cement garden paving  – Garda
2. Häcker – Kitchen furniture – Classic
3. Vogue – Bathroom ceramic flooring – IN
4. Bauwerk – Oak flooring – Monopark 
5. Marazzi – Kitchen and living room ceramic flooring – Material