The creativity of design can be simply driven from a deep understanding of where the site is located and whom you are designing for. The given situation evokes an idea about how the house should be formed in response to its surroundings. It is also important to comprehend the client’s diverse need of a certain space in the house that will be beneficial to her daily environment.

Coordinating the many factors involved in the project was a challenge, so it was necessary to have clear conclusions about the relevant aspects that would influence the design. These aspects were to maximize the view of the surrounding landscape, to keep within the local building regulations, to estimate the required volumes of each room and to foresee the future circumstance of the client. And most of all, the design had to be realized within the budget.

In our design, we wanted to embody the essence of the client’s ideas about comfort, but to also allow for future changes in her lifestyle. The lower level is more open and public, and includes the client's wish to one day move her psychology practice here and be able to work from home. Consequently, all the bedrooms are on the upper level, where they are allocated more privacy, and a generous view of the mountains and the lake.

The unusual shape for the house was also a result of a playful re-interpretation of the local building regulation that required all houses in the area to have inclined roofs. By combining this apparent limitation with the client's specific needs for privacy and vertical separation of functions, allowed the final design to at once be both modern and respectful of it context.

The materiality of the facade was strongly influence by budget limitations, but still helped us to reinforce the overall concept. By cladding the houses on the second level entirely with galvanized corrugated steel, we were able to give them the appearance of abstract volumes and to help them stand out on top of the more modest white stucco cladding on the lower level, while at the same time retaining a light monotone aesthetic.