- Interior
House in a Park is an architectural masterpiece, harmoniously integrated into its surroundings. For this special house, Think Architecture was inspired by the natural landscape of the surrounding park.
It comprises a dwelling on a park-like plot that consists of a collection of freely configurable spaces over one floor. Seen from above, it looks as if several cubes have been placed against each other to form a house. These individual structures are held together by continuous eaves that form a transition to an undulating roof landscape. 
Like most of their realisations, this project was designed for a special location and according to a very specific idea. ‘Our main inspiration was the park-like terrain with its precious old trees. This direct view of the surrounding park was even more important to us than the view of the lake and the mountain landscape. This is why we wanted to design a house that would connect to this park and allow an intense experience of nature,’ says Marco Zbinden, one of the two founders of Think Architecture. 
The atrium brings nature into the heart of the house.
The unique idea and design is immediately apparent in the special architectural appearance. Along the outside, the house is clad with light-grey natural stone façade strips. These strips create ‘a horizontal stratification that accentuates the natural look of the structures rising up out of the ground’. Furthermore, large wooden and metal windows enhance the architectural appearance. The cubic volumes derive their inspiration and height from the natural contours in the landscape and integrate harmoniously into their surroundings. ‘This meandering basic form conceals the actual size of the house, and through the protrusions and recesses it blends into the landscape of the surrounding park.’
The beautiful surroundings were not only used as inspiration for the exterior architecture, but are also fully exploited inside. For example, all rooms have direct access to the garden and an attractive view of the park, the mountains or the lake. In the middle of the house there is an atrium that provides natural lighting and brings nature into the heart of the house. Several skylights also generate natural light and provide additional views of the surrounding treetops. 
‘Our approach resulted in a relatively large footprint. We wanted to fit it into the park as gently as possible and therefore chose this meandering figure with a small patio in the middle. Furthermore, despite the size of the house, we wanted to avoid classical corridors and designed a kind of cluster typology leading from room to room,’ Zbinden adds. The interior is dressed in a soft palette of beige and brown and is characterised by a strong minimalism that emphasises the architecture and puts it deservedly in the spotlight. 
The complete interview with Think Architecture and their project House in a Park can be found in the summer edition of our magazine, Imagicasa Summer 2021.
Photography by Simone Bossi