Swiss architects Deschenaux have designed a house adjacent to a forest in a neighbourhood of villas in Vuissens, a secluded village in Fribourg, Switzerland. The house is oriented towards the forest and entered through an opening in a concrete wall. Following the topography of the site, a small entrance hall leads two steps down to the kitchen, which connects to a larger volume of the living room. The living room, with forest views through a wall of glazed doors, opens to a double-height loggia.
Upstairs, a corridor with a central wall emphasises the length of the house and leads to an open-air balcony at one end, while the other end offers a view of the forest through a large opening in the concrete wall.
The construction of the house is influenced by local rural buildings such as brick storage structures and metal-covered henhouses. Concrete serves as the primary envelope for longevity, with cement bricks indicating heated spaces, utilising a single layer of mineral-based insulation eliminating the need for a vapour barrier. Windows are placed according to internal lighting needs. The ground floor features a sanded underfloor heated structural concrete slab, while the upper floor features large joint spacings to help distinguish load-bearing concrete from the timber floors and ceilings. Photo by Rory Gardiner. Deschenaux
