House V

House V is located at the edge of the airport of Zurich. Its facade is based on a Voxel principle (as opposed to a 2D Pixel a Voxel is 3D) with alternating oriels and balconies. It seems like a big cube consisting out of many smaller cubes.

The metal sunblinds serve as privacy screens and form “walls of light” as in my opinion, the fully glazed facades offer not enough privacy in a living environment. The pattern is an inversion of a traditional Korean pattern, mixed with traditional swiss patterns newly interpreted.

Even the showers are fully glazed; If you are not showering you can leave the pattern open to flood the bathroom and the hallway -if you leave the door open, which hides the toilet - with natural light. If you close the pattern during the day you can’t be seen and in the night voyeurs see a black silhouette. Again trying to blur the differences between private and public, as I believe a facade should be a face towards the city reflecting the life happening in the building.

In this project, I was involved as an investor, owner, architect, construction manager and building administrator managing all stages of development.

Photography by Valentin Jeck