Wohnhaus in Urdorf is a minimal home located in Urdorf, Switzerland, designed by Baseli Candrian Architekt ETH. In the agglomeration of Zurich, a young family purchased a plot of land adjacent to their parental home in order to build two residential units for themselves and relatives. The designed figure is oriented towards the landscape in the southwest, which allows a wide view of the valley and the mountain ranges. Various outdoor spaces with different recreational qualities define the volume with its projections and recesses. The place between the new house and the parental home next door forms the main outdoor space. A large, multifunctional square mediates between the street and the house. The flats on each floor have a classic layout.

A layer of rooms with the bedrooms and bathrooms provides a back to the northeast. The living rooms nestle along the sun façade and, together with the veranda, form the main living area. The rooms and layers are interconnected by views that function as visual axes through the house into the landscape. Despite the minimal use of surface area, generosity can be created in this way. The house consists of a concrete base anchored into the slope, which together with a traditionally rendered single-stone masonry and a copper finish forms the main body. The exterior spaces as well as the roof with its attic room are built in wood. In terms of expression and construction, the house is inspired by bourgeois suburban houses as well as rural settlements in the Zurich area.

Photography by Federico Farinatti