Villa Merhof Felix

In the hilly landscape of Uetikon am See, situated between Zurich and Rapperswil, a detached house has been built on a plot offering stunning views across Lake Zurich, blending seamlessly among existing neighbouring buildings. The clients wanted a home that would consistently use this privileged view as the starting point for the architectural design.

A retaining wall deliberately directs the view from inside the house across the lake, thereby framing the vista spatially even before the building itself comes into view. The ground floor itself is designed as an open viewing platform: the kitchen, dining area, and a lounge area with barbecue facilities merge here to form a communal space entirely oriented towards the lake view. Above this, seemingly suspended, rests a closed wooden structure which houses the private rooms and, through its materiality, blends into the surrounding natural landscape.

Conceptually, the house is designed to foster a deliberate dialogue between interior and exterior: rich exterior colours are framed by understated materials such as concrete and metal, whilst inside, an equally minimalist material scheme allows this colour palette to flow from outside into the building. Fittings such as kitchen fronts and doors feature warm, wood-effect surfaces; the vertical staircase is clad in a similar style. A skylight at the top of the staircase provides carefully directed light and creates a bright, warm transition to the more tranquil rooms on the upper floor. There, concrete-like surfaces meet warm wooden elements, lending the floating structure a cosy atmosphere.

All the rooms on the upper floor open onto a shared balcony with a lake view, which remains within the soft, wood-clad core of the floating structure. On the south-east side, a reading window facing the lake complements this introverted yet view-oriented sequence of spaces. The understated material palette of the interior is continued in the outdoor space, allowing the natural colours of the surrounding hilly landscape to dominate and ensuring the building blends gently into its surroundings.