Residential Building near Basel by CRRA

The small village of Reigoldswil is located in the Swiss Plateau, around 30 km south-east of Basel. At the southern end of the village, a young family of five wanted to fulfil their dream of owning their own home. The Basel-based architects CRRA designed a three-part building ensemble that does not use any concrete at all. Its construction consists of prefabricated wooden elements and stands on steel grids, which in turn are anchored to the ground with screw foundations.

The building follows the slope of the hillside. The living area is easily recognisable because it has a ribbon of windows all around it. © CRRA

All buildings are accessed from the mountain side, and the two largest are connected internally by a ramp. This ensures the building is fully accessible for people with disabilities. The slightly elevated, elongated entrance wing contains the individual rooms and wet areas, while the lower, square structure is designated for living and dining. A third building, accessible separately, serves as storage space and replaces the basement that was omitted. The architects removed load-bearing interior walls to facilitate a later, more straightforward conversion of the house. The slight height offset and the swivelling of the building structures provide a variety of external references, offering views of rolling hills, meadows with fruit trees and a cable car at the very end of the valley.

A flat wooden ramp leads from the entrance area down into the living room. © CRRA

The building's unusual design meant that CRRA were able to use 30 % less energy to build it than they would have needed to use if they had built a timber house with conventional floor slabs. Soil sealing and loss of vegetation are virtually zero. Water can continue to flow down the slope without anything getting in the way, and at the end of its life, the building can be taken away from the site without leaving any waste.

Each room has a floor-to-ceiling window opening onto the valley. © CRRA

The architects explain their design idea like this: "The house on the green field is an experiment in viewing the construction of a typical Swiss single-family home as a project that takes everything into account. It creates living space that is in harmony with nature, uses the construction skills of local people, does not disrupt the existing ecosystem and reduces greenhouse gas emissions during construction and operation to a minimum."