Trovatello House

Trovatello House
© Thomas Hämmerli

TROVATELLO HOUSE

KREN Architektur

 ARCHITECTS
KREN Architektur

PHOTOGRAPHS
Thomas Hämmerli, Michael Kren

MANUFACTURERS
GRAPHISOFT, Liapor, NEUCO, Schreinerei Schneider AG

LIGHT DESIGNER
Neuco AG

ENGINEERING
Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure AG

HVAC DESIGNERS
TEBIT Haustechnik AG

LANDSCAPE
KREN Architektur AG

BUILDING PHYSICS
Gruner AG

DESIGN TEAM
Michael Kren, Lisa Rohrer

AREA
559 m²

YEAR
2016

CATEGORY
Houses

LOCATION
Seltisberg, Switzerland

Text description provided by the architects

Trovatello means a glacial erratic (a boulder). The plot is located on the southern edge of Seltisberg, a rural village in the canton Basel-Lanschaft.

Trovatello House
© Thomas Hämmerli
Trovatello House
© Thomas Hämmerli

The topography sloped down gently towards the south, opening a stunning view onto the surrounding countryside. Trovatello is a free-standing building block, like a boulder in the edge of its landscape. This metaphor shapes the form, character and construction of the house.

The structure is formed from a single shell of insulating concrete, echoing earlier solid masonry buildings.

Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren

Up to 1.2 meters thick, the concrete walls with their high inertia, mass and insulating properties (LECA aggregate) regulate the indoor climate and meet with their surfaces the highest design demands both on the interior and exterior.

The building is topped by complex folded roof which shape was designed, within the constraints imposed by the structure’s geometry and the building code, to provide as much space as possible on the upper floor.

Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren

Assembling the roof from variously shaped pieces created rooms on the upper floor that each have their own special geometry and individual ambience.

At the same time, the roof gives the structure its squat shape, which underscores the image of the isolated boulder. Concrete dominates the interior, left exposed so that it can exude its specific material properties.

A contrast is created with monochrome flooring and with windows and fixtures in oak. This monolithic construction was designed to withstand the ephemeral trends and stand as a special building. As the boulder of Seltisberg

Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren


Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Thomas Hämmerli
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren

Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Thomas Hämmerli
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Michael Kren
Trovatello House
© Thomas Hämmerli
Trovatello House
© Thomas Hämmerli
Trovatello House
© Thomas Hämmerli


Trovatello House
Longitudinal section
Trovatello House
Transversal section


Trovatello House
Plan
Trovatello House
Plan
Trovatello House
Plan