gus wustemann architects: 2verandas

‘2verandas’ by gus wustemann architects, erlenbach, switzerland image © bruno helbling all images courtesy of gus wustemann architects

swiss practice gus wustemann architects has completed a dwelling for a south african family in erlenbach. the inclined site contains two volumes, the main residence with views to nearby lake zurich and the poolhouse located closer to a neighboring housing development, immersed and surrounded by gardens so that none of the site can be considered unused land. a stone promenade connects the two masses creating two open-air verandas.

the main dwelling is made up of a reinforced concrete structure, containing two floors with the public living spaces above and the private areas below. the downstairs patio can be joined with the living room connecting all the bedrooms wrapped in a wood facade to create a central gathering space. natural wood and travertine offer a raw material palette illuminated by the various openings in the massive shell. lighting is used in the interior to highlight edges and corners, rather than the center, and the vertical circulation is pushed to the back of the structure to open all the rooms to the view.

private downstairs  living room image © bruno helbling

image © bruno helbling

image © bruno helbling

caption image © bruno helbling

basement level image © bruno helbling

basement level studio space image © bruno helbling

shelves made from solid wood planks image © bruno helbling

upper level living room image © bruno helbling

clerestory brings in southern light image © bruno helbling

image © bruno helbling

staircase located along the back of the residence image © bruno helbling

travertine bathroom image © bruno helbling

closet of wood and travertine image © bruno helbling

bathroom and bedroom image © bruno helbling

view towards the pool house image © bruno helbling

front entrance image © bruno helbling

upper deck image © bruno helbling

stone promenade to pool house image © bruno helbling

wrapping structure offers seating and defines space image © bruno helbling

bar and changing area behind image © bruno helbling

image © bruno helbling

image © bruno helbling

image © bruno helbling

image © bruno helbling

site plan

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level -1

section

axonometric drawing