Villa Hauterive

Located near the village of Hauterive and overlooking the lake of Neuchâtel, a new construction was built over the basement of a pre-existing building. The apparent volume of the old building was completely demolished and the premises in the basement reorganized.

The new construction on the upper level takes exactly the outer perimeter of the demolished volume. A single-storey wooden volume with a pure four-sided roof forms the living space that opens onto the lake from the south through large bay windows and onto the rear garden with views of the Jura mountains. Glass facades folding inwards create on the north side the entrance and on the south side a covered terrace with panoramic views.

The plan is organized around a central element, the staircase, which connects the two floors. This one is crowned by a large well of light in pyramidal shape exploiting the volume of the roof. The lower floor was completely redesigned to make the most of the existing space bringing natural light to all living spaces. To complete these, two small courtyards were dug in the topography on the east and west facades. A linear space with a courtyard at each end houses a multi-purpose exhibition room and a relaxation room.

An independent apartment for friends is organized on the remaining volume on the south side with exit on the large lower terrace with swimming pool. Two distinct worlds are superimposed; a more aerial and open on the upper floor, the other more intimate and contained on the lower floor. One was cut in the topography in concrete and natural stone, the other is the fluid space contained between the floor and the roof materialized in glass and wood.

bauzeit architekten: Yves Baumann, Peter Bergmann and Roberto Pascual