Private Villa, Basel

Project Informations

Project: Private Villa, Basel

Client: Private

Date: 2007-2008

Status: Commission, not built

The design starts with the initial step of clearing the site from the existing building. The steepness of the site represents the main ingredient for the design concept: Can we transform this topography to obscure the difference between building and landscape? The site is turned into a ‘geometricalized’ topography, out of which the building is physically pulled, through a process of distorted extrusion. Seen in elevation, the building is visible as a uprising volume. Seen from other views, it vanishes within the irregularities of the transformed landscape. Visible / Invisible, a building like an optical illusion. The complete landscape is covered by a patchwork of different materials, surfaces or foliage. Sometimes, making something very visible is the best camouflage.