Gus Wüstemann Architects Ag

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling

THE PAVILION HOUSE

Gus Wüstemann

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Leu Elektro GmbH

CARPENTER AND WOODWORK
Cremer Bruhin AG

PHOTOGRAPHS
Bruno Helbling

LEAD ARCHITECT
Bianca Kilian

AREA
484 m²

YEAR
2020

MANUFACTURERS
Fiechter + Fuchs, Huber Fenster AG, Schenker Storen, Edelweissfenster AG

DESIGN TEAM ARCHITECTS
Daniel Pelach, Panagiota Sarantinoudi

HLSK PLANNING
Frei + Partner

BUILDING PHYSICS
Gartenmann Engineering AG

METAL
Kreativ Metallbau GmbH

LOCATION
Buchberg, Switzerland

METALWORK
Marti Komfortlüftung & Bauspenglerei Ag

BUILDER
Meister Bau AG

CIVIL ENGINEER
Born Partner AG

SANITARY
Heierli Partner Haustechnik AG

HEATING
Kurtisi

This house is situated in Buchberg, a rural village near Zurich in Switzerland. The typology of the houses in this village is dominated by the local gable roof of the rural farmer buildings.

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling

These houses traditionally have a massive base and wooden roof construction, a house made out of stone and wood.

The roof typically cantilevers to all sides of the facades, creating a covered outside zone in front of the house. Like a Pavilion the roof shelters the open space ground floor. The house was planned for a family in the village.

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling

Pragmatic and Sensual. We adapted this roof typology and created a large open space over the ground floor, almost like a barn, just sheltering what is supposed to be the living area.

Half of this ground floor space is inside space and the other half outside space covered by the roof.

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling

In the summer the living area doubles in size, sliding windows open and join the outside area underneath the roof. We adapted the pragmatism of the local building tradition in a hybrid of raw concrete and wood.

Morphology - Concrete, and Wood. Morphologically it is a hybrid of concrete and wood. A concrete skeleton is the bearing structure and carries the preconstructed timber roof. All the materials inside and outside remain raw, just wood and concrete.

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling

The first floor with its sleeping rooms is entirely out of wood. The plinth is of concrete and contains a dental practice.

The ground floor is a living space under one big barn roof, which cantilevers to all sides and therefore connects the surroundings with the living area.

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling

Economically optimized interventions by reducing all the technical installations of the building to a minimum – in swiss standards – we focus on a couple of interventions that add major value to the quality of the living space.

These are sliding windows and built-in benches as the communicative element of the concrete topography.

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling

Sustainability and Simplicity. The use of mostly recycled concrete and local wood enabled a modest carbon footprint. The rawness of the construction is a reference to the traditional pragmatic way of building; How is it built, no hierarchy of materials or esthetics. Simplicity is the way to go.

Craftsmanship. In addition, to mention the excellent work and teamwork of everyone who was involved, we would like to say a special thank you to the foreman Samuel Janser. Unfortunately, he has never seen his work, as he lost his life in a tragic traffic accident.

The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
© Bruno Helbling


The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG


The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
Basement floor plan
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
First floor plan
The Pavilion House in BUCHBERG
Ground floor plan

Gus Wüstemann Architects Ag
T +41 44 4002015
Gus Wüstemann Architects Ag
Neufrankengasse 18, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland