Sky-Frame, the Swiss-based global leader of category-defining windows and sliding doors, launches the Sky-Frame Virtual House: an immersive digital residence designed by Oppenheim Architecture that reimagines how architecture can be experienced before it is built.
Created as a first-in category digital environment, the Virtual House allows architects, designers and clients to explore architecture through light, atmosphere and sensation rather than drawings alone. Built with real-time rendering and gaming technology, the experience demonstrates how Sky-Frame’s frameless systems dissolve the boundary between inside and outside, to reveal the emotional and sensory impact of space, materiality and place.
Sky-Frame challenged Oppenheim Architecture to create a house with a distinct sense of place, while remaining free from the constraints of physical construction, geography, and logistics.
“The brief was to create an experience that captures the essence of Sky-Frame: openness, continuity and a seamless connection between inside and outside. By collaborating with Oppenheim Architecture, we were able to explore these ideas without physical constraints and demonstrate the emotional power of architecture in an entirely new way. The result is a richly atmospheric virtual world defined by its dreamlike realism” - Andrea Zürcher, CMO at Sky-Frame
Approaching the project as an intellectual experiment, Oppenheim Architecture began with a fundamental question: What defines a house? Starting with their precise architectural approach, the design evolved into a fully digital environment unconstrained by conventional realities.
The resulting single-storey residence that exists in two distinct settings: the beachside landscape of Florida and the dramatic alpine scenery of the Swiss mountains. Visitors can experience how each environment’s light quality differs, within a narrative context. This feeling is enhanced, as visitors move through the house without entrances, driveways or thresholds, to experience an uninterrupted sequence of atmospheres.
Throughout the visit, choices can be made intuitively, from switching material finishes to exploring different design configurations and products. Frameless sliding doors open to reveal sensory effects unique to each setting including the sound of the sea and drifting snowflakes.
“Creating atmospheric spaces allows for feelings and emotions, of which light is the essence. Through a virtual room, we’re leading to reality.” - Beat Huesler, Global Management Partner at Oppenheim Architecture
Designed to elicit an emotional response before analytical observation begins, the Virtual House prioritises atmosphere, perception and discovery. More than a digital representation of a house, it is a tool for experiencing architecture through emotion, light and atmosphere.
