This classic Swiss alpine chalet has had a radical reinvention
Located in the Northern Swiss Alps at around 1,500 metres above sea level, Klosters has a particular kind of alpinespirit – a layered cocktail of tradition, authenticity and natural beauty; qualities that attracted stars such as Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall and Greta Garbo in the 1950s, and more recently the Davos crowd (the next town over). Its nickname, ‘Hollywood on the rocks’, seems fitting.
It’s here that Think Architecture’s Ralph Brogle and Marco Zbinden, aided by interior-design studio Atelier Zürich, realised the radical transformation of a 60-year-old complex of three apartments into a spacious family home with room for guests.
They did this by stripping the original building of its wooden terrace and unifying disparate structural elements by wrapping them in a bush-hammered concrete shell, which also creates a bridge between the main road and the house.
Growing out of this brutal, contemporary foundation, the central wooden structure remains chalet-like at its core, but its blackened-larch cladding means it stands in starkly modern contrast to its neighbours, with their pale timber exteriors.
Inside, the dark theme of the building’s façade is maintained through the entrance and a stairwell that rises through the four levels of the home. These areas feel intimate, with visitors experiencing a sense of release as they transition into each level’s dedicated spaces.
The main living room soars with a double-height ceiling and windows in the roof that flood it with natural light, while the oak cladding on all surfaces frames views to the village, mountains and valleys beyond.
Throughout, the palette of refined natural materials is an ever-present reminder of the region’s picturesque surroundings. A terrazzo floor demarcates the entrance area – the owners were involved in the choice and placement of large river stones in a gesture that pushed the limits of the art and results in a stunning personal statement of love for the landscape.
‘Attention was paid to zoning the spaces and to room transitions,’ says Ralph. ‘Certain places are staged as a clear break; elsewhere they are interlocking. One world of materials segues into the other.’
‘We are only as good as our clients,’ adds Claudia from Atelier Zürich, who studied details such as how her clients like to sit – ‘from firm upholstery in the lounge to no fabrics on the dining chairs’.
These details, she says, ‘ultimately make a project personal’. The combined force of these interior designers and architects has achieved a modern interpretation of a Swiss mountain house – ‘clean lines but cosy. Not too much and not too little’. thinkarchitecture.ch; atelierzuerich.ch
