Traditional Alpine chalets define BXB studio designed Swiss House

The Gotthard region, surrounding the eponymous Gotthard Pass is dotted with Alpine Chalets—the traditional Gotthard Houses that are endemic to the region. The Swiss House is conceptualised around these chalets— traditionally used not only as living quarters, but also for storage of livestock, firewood, and dairy products. Designed by Bogusław Barnaś of the Polish BXB studio, the Swiss House is a multi-functional building located in Unterschächen in Switzerland.

Characterised by stone foundations, wooden construction, steep roofs, overhanging eaves, multiple storeys, and ornate balconies, the design of the Gotthard House is conceived as a means to protect against the wind, and receive maximum sunlight—achieved by building into the mountain (a natural source of heat) and orienting living areas towards the warmer south. Furthermore, modest-sized fenestrations trap the heat, while keeping the cold out.     

The Polish architects unravel three distinct layers in the Gotthard House—a stone base, a timber log structure, and a timber frame structure supporting a roof truss covered in slated stone. These layers are reinterpreted in the Swiss House to distinguish commercial, residential, tourist and common spaces. The concrete base that encloses the ground floor is embedded into the terrain and anchors the building to the slope. Constituting a commercial space and parking area, the ground floor recedes from the street to accommodate a sheltered bus stop and public square.

The residential block constituting the second layer, is composed of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) panels, and accommodates two apartments of two storeys each. On the first floor, on either side of a central stairway, the lower floor of each apartment houses the living area and kitchen, while the second floor (accessed via separate, internal L-shaped staircases from each apartment) accommodates three bedrooms, and a bathroom each.

The third layer is illustrated as a light weight timber frame structure that encloses four micro-apartments of two storeys—living and utility areas on the third floor and a bedroom on the fourth floor. An external terrace adjacent to the mountain on the north allows tourists to independently access the mountain apartments and a two-storied co-working space on the same floors. Additionally, a mountain trail (leading to the grounds of the historic church above the site) and a public viewing platform enable street access to the external terrace.

The Swiss House, with its back to the mountain on the north, abates along its front façade to maximise natural light from the south, while simultaneously enabling a cascading arrangement of groups of pitched roofs. Thus all living areas—the commercial space, apartments, mountain apartments and the co-working space—are afforded views of the Alpine peaks on the south.

Thus with an orientation that instinctively insulates the building, coupled with a material palette that maximises the use of sustainable wood, the Swiss House minimises the impact of its construction on the environment. The design also allows for the elimination of the elevator (while allowing effortless circulation), further reducing its carbon footprint.

Although the scale of a house, the building forms associations with Unterschächen at large, through its urban interventions, which include not only the bus stand and public square on the ground floor, but also the urban terraces and mountain trail leading to the historic church.

The Swiss House thus deconstructs the design of the Gotthard House to reassemble it within a contemporary context—in terms of aesthetics, construction techniques and programme. However, it manifests continuity through its interaction with the terrain and nature.