Residential Barn

Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone

Residential Barn

BE ARCHITEKTUR GMBH

LOCATION
Zurich, Switzerland

YEAR
2022

PROJECT MANAGER
Ashley Stoner

AREA
215 M²

CATEGORY
Houses

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Yan Krymsky, Leigh Christy, Gabrielle Bullock

PROJECT ARCHITECT
Nathan Mattson

Around 15 buildings form a hamlet zone in a rural, mainly agricultural setting. This new home in the hamlet feels obliged to honor the area’s historical context.

Typical barn characteristics were taken up and reinterpreted in a modern way.

Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone

From a distance, the residence discreetly blends into its rustic surroundings. The exterior facade is clad in glazed spruce wood – the same type of timber used on traditional Swiss barns.

A pitched roof was designed in the same vein, with tile roofing typical to the local architecture.

Openable windows are concealed behind wooden shutters, while the generous fixed glazing is fronted by wooden sliding doors that provide sun protection, darkening, and privacy.

Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone

A raw steel beam serves as a gutter, jutting out beyond the base of the roof. Downpipes were omitted; the rainwater drains off the side like a waterfall.

The building responds to the topography of the site. Building on a slope usually requires excavation behind the building and backfilling in front; this approach was deliberately rejected.

Instead, the ground floor is arranged in a series of levels at different heights to follow the existing slope.

Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone

A barn is typically used for storage and as a workroom for agricultural production. Although this new building is not a depository, its rooms – bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, etc. – are “stored” within it as closed volumes and are figuratively stacked on top of one another.

This “stacking” creates a sculptural interior, a positive spatial volume within the building.

Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone

A negative volume forms around these stacks, comprising a landscape of open living spaces that are interconnected vertically and horizontally.

A generous interior unfolds with a sense of endless expanse.

The new building reinterprets the simple, unadorned nature of a traditional barn through its choice of materials.

Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone

Exposed concrete slabs for the floor and a special plaster covering the walls ensure a raw, unfinished feel.

Two different materials with a similar effect – concrete and plaster – are used throughout the interior to achieve an expressive effect.

The freestanding two-car garage in exposed concrete was created using the same timber formwork as that used for the house facade.

Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone
Residential Barn
© Vito Stallone

A photovoltaic system was installed on the gently sloping concrete gable roof, the solar panels covering the surface like a carpet.

The new home enters into a thematic dialogue with the surrounding agricultural buildings for a unique interpretation of the vernacular barn typology.


Residential Barn
Site plan
Residential Barn
Ground floor
Residential Barn
First floor
Residential Barn
Attic floor plan


Residential Barn
Cross section
Residential Barn
Cross section
Residential Barn
Long section
Residential Barn
Long section


Residential Barn
West facade
Residential Barn
East facade
Residential Barn
South facade
Residential Barn
North facade


Residential Barn
Model