Copyright © 2025 Motivate Media Group. All rights reserved.
The residential project is designed in a traditional barn, yet in a modern way that blends into its rustic and agricultural surroundings
Be Architektur designed its latest residential barn project in a Hamlet Zone of rural, mainly agricultural place of Switzerland. Typical barn characteristics were taken up and reinterpreted in a modern way. From a distance, the residence discreetly blends into its rustic surroundings. The exterior facade is clad in glazed spruce wood – the same type of timber used on traditional Swiss barns. A pitched roof was designed 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.
Wood fixtures add warmth to the space
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. Instead, the ground floor is arranged in a series of levels at different heights to follow the existing slope.
Clean minimal designs
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. This “stacking” creates a sculptural interior, which is a positive spatial volume within the building.
Subtle design elements
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.
Concrete styled interiors
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 residence discreetly blends into its rustic surroundings
The building responds to the topography of the site
The new home enters into a thematic dialogue with the surrounding agricultural buildings for a unique interpretation of the vernacular barn typology.
The exterior facade is clad in glazed spruce wood
Client: Private owners
Living space: 215 m²
Civil engineer: suisseplan Ingenieure AG, Zurich
Lighting design: Lichtblick AG, Buchs
Building physics: Wichser Akustik & Bauphysik AG, Zurich
HVAC planning: Elsner Klima AG Adliswil
Photography by Vito Stallone
Perennials unveils the Sun Kissed collection for 2025
Architect Rabih Geha’s collaboration with Iwan Maktabi
For Ayesha Erkin, architecture was never just about buildings, but about how people live, eat, gather and remember
Cycladic heritage, heartfelt hospitality and contemporary design converge on Deos Mykonos, designed by GM Architects
Curved shapes and colourful artworks bring vibrancy to this contemporary home with mesmerising nature views
Perched among the treetops, this serene home’s permanent connection to nature invites dwellers to unplug and unwind
A.R.M. Holding and BIG unveil visionary masterplan around Jebel Ali Racecourse
Interior designer Claudia Afshar’s collaboration with Cosentino redefines vertical cladding with nature-inspired textures and a timeless aesthetic
HKLIVING’s Summer ’25 Additions are arriving to the Middle East via Urban Nest
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Sedar Global collaborate on a limited-edition collection offering for summer 2025
SETE Interiors has completed a curated home at Nikki Beach Residences on Pearl Jumeirah island in Dubai
This ceiling-mounted shower system transforms daily routines into wellness rituals.