Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects

Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Exterior PhotographyCollective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Exterior PhotographyCollective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Interior Photography, StairsCollective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Interior PhotographyCollective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - More Images+ 27

Villars-sur-Glâne, Switzerland
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  2030
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2021
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Rasmus Norlander
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Aebischer AG, Antiglio, Carsa, Charpentes Vial, Charrière, Davet revêtements de sol Sàrl, Grégoire Progin, Jacques Klaus Sàrl, Kästli Storen, PORTES BRODARD, Raboud Energie, Schenker Storen
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Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Exterior Photography
© Rasmus Norlander

Text description provided by the architects. The project is located in Villars-sur-Glâne, in Fribourg’s surroundings. The quiet area is facing the countryside. Behind the road, the field is still cultivated, and the trees are still populated with birds, which give the place a feeling of the passing of time. Moreover, the site is close to the city center. This lucky situation demands an ambitious project to build apartment buildings for rental with high-quality materials and spaces while handling the budget. Architectural quality should not be reserved for the owners of their housing.

Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Exterior Photography
© Rasmus Norlander
Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Exterior Photography
© Rasmus Norlander

The two similar buildings are situated lengthwise, from north to south, following the need to optimize the plot. This constraint drives the whole project from the structure to the typology of the apartments, as well as the dormer window’s dimensions. Each floor is composed of two symmetrical apartments. Right after entering an apartment, you can see a long wall that stretches until the south, against which all the rooms are built up. When walking along the wall, you discover the spaces one to one, each of them with its privacy, its function, it's opening. In the end, the dining room is immersed in light, and the loggia overlooks the trees and the nearby meadow.

Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Image 23 of 32
Site plan

The materiality of the project is driven by both a contemporary expression and traditional constructive rules. The composition is classical a base with the garage and the entrance, the main body with two floors, and a top with the attic and its shaped roof. The construction details reveal the same reference to the past. The corners are sculpted like cornerstones. The rabbets in the openings refer to the classical moldings of a stone building.

Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Interior Photography
© Rasmus Norlander
Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Interior Photography, Stairs
© Rasmus Norlander

Another contrast gives richness to the project. The matter is both present and absent somehow. It is present, thanks to the concrete which expresses a heavy and sculpted mineral block. It is however absent, thanks to the openings that hollow out the matter and reveal the context rather than the construction itself. The high and textured glazing of the stairwell allows the space to be filled with the outside atmosphere, the trees and the wind are felt from the inside. The other openings reflect the surroundings and the light variations, thanks to the glass and the stainless steel. Even the roof can merge into the sky.

Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Interior Photography
© Rasmus Norlander

An ethical issue finally guides the project. Every place where a person lives should welcome the inhabitant with some charm and nobility, even a new build. Here, noble materials have been chosen, which allow for a change over time. The stainless-steel expresses fineness, and the raw oak gives warmth. The idea of nobility is especially found on the top floor, where the spaces get higher, and the elements get taller.

Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Interior Photography, Kitchen, Countertop
© Rasmus Norlander
Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Interior Photography
© Rasmus Norlander

Doors and windows, furniture and tiles, everything help to offer the inhabitant a generous place to live. Finally, the feeling of being home begins from the entrance of the building. Thanks to the high glazing of the stairwell, the oaken doors, and the carpet made from natural vegetable fibers, the cozy atmosphere makes you want to get rid of your shoes as soon as you enter this big house.

Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects - Interior Photography
© Rasmus Norlander

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Project location

Address:1752 Villars-sur-Glâne, Switzerland

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Collective Housing Bel-Air / Deschenaux Architects" 18 Mar 2022. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/978692/collective-housing-bel-air-deschenaux-architects> ISSN 0719-8884

© Rasmus Norlander

亦隐亦显,Bel-Air集合住宅 / Deschenaux Architects

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