Be Architektur has designed a residential barn that has an unfinished and raw interior in a Hamlet Zone of around 15 buildings in a rural, mainly agricultural setting in Switzerland. 

Named Residential Barn in a Hamlet Zone in Switzerland, the 215-square-metre building is a new home in the hamlet that "feels obliged to honor the area’s historical context."

The interiors of the house have smooth concrete walls that offer minimalism and little furniture details to give an artistic look and comfort. 

Be Architektur draws inspiration from typical barn characteristics of the surrounding area and reinterprets in a modern way. "From a distance, the residence discreetly blends into its rustic surroundings," said the office. 

To clad the façade in glazed spruce wood, the studio takes references from the same type of timber used on traditional Swiss barns. The barn is supported by a pitched roof in the same vein, with tile roofing typical to the local architecture. 

Openable windows are concealed behind wooden shutters, while the generous fixed glazing is fronted by wooden sliding doors that provide sun protection, darkening, and privacy. 

A raw steel beam serves as a gutter, jutting out beyond the base of the roof. Downpipes were omitted; the rainwater drains off the side like a waterfall.

"The building responds to the topography of the site. Building on a slope usually requires excavation behind the building and backfilling in front, but this approach was deliberately rejected," said the office. 

"Instead, the ground floor is arranged in a series of levels at different heights to follow the existing slope."

A barn is typically used for storage and as a workroom for agricultural production. Although this new building is not a depository, its rooms – bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, etc. – are “stored” within it as closed volumes figuratively stacked on top of one another. 

The studio describes this “stacking” as a sculptural interior, which is a positive spatial volume within the building. 

A negative volume forms around these stacks, comprising a landscape of open living spaces that are interconnected vertically and horizontally. A generous interior unfolds with a sense of endless expanse.

The new building reinterprets the simple, unadorned nature of a traditional barn through its choice of materials. Exposed concrete slabs for the floor and a special plaster covering the walls ensure a raw, unfinished feel. 

Two different materials with a similar effect – concrete and plaster – are used throughout the interior to achieve an expressive effect.

The freestanding two-car garage in exposed concrete was created using the same timber formwork as that used for the house facade. A photovoltaic system was installed on the gently sloping concrete gable roof, with solar panels covering the surface like a carpet.

The new home enters into a thematic dialogue with the surrounding agricultural buildings for a unique interpretation of the vernacular barn typology.

Image © Be Architektur GMBH Boris Egli dipl. Architekt FH REG A SIA

Image © Be Architektur GMBH Boris Egli dipl. Architekt FH REG A SIA

Project facts

Client: Private owners

Commission: Direct 

Living space: 215 m2

Volume (Swiss norm SIA 416): 1021 m3 + garage 106 m3

Completion: 01.08.2022

Civil engineer: suisseplan Ingenieure AG, Zurich

Lighting design: Lichtblick AG, Buchs

Building physics: Wichser Akustik & Bauphysik AG, Zurich

HVAC planning: Elsner Klima AG Adliswil

All images © Vito Stallone unless otherwise stated. 

> via Be Architektur GMBH Boris Egli dipl. Architekt FH REG A SIA 

Be Architektur built concrete project rural house