- Project: Residential Barn
- Architect: BE ARCHITEKTUR GMBH
- Location: Switzerland, Zurich
- Year: 2022
- Area: 215 m2
- Photography: Vito Stallone
Honoring Rural Context
The Residential Barn, designed by BE Architektur GmbH in Zurich, Switzerland, is a thoughtful reinterpretation of the traditional Swiss barn typology. Surrounded by around 15 rustic buildings in a hamlet zone, the new home is conceived not as an imposition but as an evolution of the local architectural language. Its design pays homage to rural heritage while introducing a sculptural modernity.
Facade and Material Expression
From a distance, the residence blends seamlessly into its agricultural surroundings. The glazed spruce wood cladding recalls the weathered surfaces of traditional barns, while the pitched roof with local clay tiles reinforces continuity with the region’s architectural style.
Key details elevate the design:
-
Wooden shutters and sliding doors conceal and protect generous glazing, providing sun shading, privacy, and thermal control.
-
A raw steel beam doubles as a gutter, channeling rainwater dramatically off the roof like a waterfall.
-
Downpipes were intentionally omitted to maintain the barn’s simple, elemental expression.
The result is a building that feels familiar yet strikingly contemporary.
Following the Topography
Instead of altering the landscape through heavy excavation and backfilling, the architects embraced the slope of the site. The ground floor is organized into staggered levels that follow the natural topography, allowing the house to sit lightly within its setting.
Sculptural Interior Concept
Traditionally, barns store hay and tools; here, the private functions of the house—bedrooms, bathrooms, closets—are conceived as “stored” closed volumes stacked within the structure. Around these, open living spaces flow vertically and horizontally, creating a dynamic interior landscape.
This interplay of positive and negative volumes produces a spatial sculpture: intimate, enclosed rooms embedded in a larger continuum of open, interconnected spaces. The result is a generous interior with a sense of expansiveness and freedom.
Material Authenticity
The interior continues the theme of honest materiality:
-
Exposed concrete slabs define the floors.
-
Textured plaster covers the walls, complementing the raw aesthetic of the concrete.
-
Both materials maintain a restrained, unfinished quality that highlights form and proportion over decoration.
Sustainable Integration
Sustainability is integral to the design. A photovoltaic system was installed on the gently sloped gable roof, its solar panels arranged like a continuous carpet across the surface. The freestanding garage, constructed in exposed concrete with timber formwork, mirrors the materiality of the house, ensuring cohesion between auxiliary and primary structures.
The Residential Barn demonstrates how contemporary architecture can reinterpret vernacular traditions without mimicry. By combining rustic materials with modern construction methods, BE Architektur GmbH crafted a residence that is simultaneously contextual and forward-looking. The home enters into dialogue with its agricultural neighbors, proving that rural heritage can be both preserved and reimagined for 21st-century living.
