Maison C is a minimalist house located in Léchelles, Switzerland, designed by Studio 17. Some houses are built without specific considerations of their surroundings – built like objects in the middle of a plot. This was the case with “House C”, a suburban villa in the countryside of Fribourg, Switzerland. Therefore, its extension was a very precise volume, which totally reoriented the house, shifting it toward its great garden. The space is organized in sequences, completely open to the surrounding, proudly assuming its situation. The extension huddles to the house, faithful to its limits but with a sensual twist. The construction is simple, yet sophisticated. The consisting elements are visible and could be simplified to three main parts; a concrete base, a continuous glass layer and a light roof supported by slender galvanized columns. Each of those has its proper logic, at first modeling the surrounding, then adapting to the existing house. The expression of the construction is reduced to its basics, avoiding any superfluous expressive elements. It is therefore very simple in appearance, without losing delicacy. The resulting inner space is a multipurpose living room in continuity between the house and the garden, largely benefitting of the beautiful and open landscape.

Photography by Dylan Perrenoud