Wangen
Year
2010
HIRT kinetics®
- SF 90
Architect
Project Partner
- Hirt Metallbau AG
Photographer
- Apix
When light and air meet
Experience a whole new way of living when, thanks to retractable glass walls, the view of the landscape becomes part of the living space, and light and air join you at the table.
A dream come true: this villa in Wangen catches the sun
According to tradition, a dreamcatcher ensures good sleep by trapping nightmares and letting only pleasant dreams through to the sleeping person. Its counterpart is a glittering suncatcher, which catches and refracts the light of the sun.
The idea of such a suncatcher seems to be reinterpreted into modern architecture in this very special house in Wangen in the Swiss canton of Schwyz. The building, which is structured by large glass surfaces, captures the beautiful light of the landscape around the Buchberg mountain and the river Wägitaler Aa with ease: It is a dream come true.
The magic of the retractable HIRT kinetics® window fronts catches the eye as soon as the support structure is set in motion. The inside and outside merge as the living room extends into the garden.
The groove-cut stainless steel which forms the edge looks elegant under all conditions. HIRT moving architecture® makes rooms dynamic, allowing you to experience them with all your senses.
A dialogue with light
The building’s location demands that light and air should be incorporated into the architectural design. The property lies in the upper part of the municipality of Wangen, sloping slightly down towards the south. The owners enjoy a phenomenal view of the surrounding landscape – while the architects of Definti Brunner Architekten found perfect conditions to turn their vision of openness into reality. The result is an ingenious combination of architecture and interior design: The modern villa consists of three quadratic groups of rooms, each of which enters into a dialogue with its surroundings. The ground floor of the single-family home is where the living and children’s areas are located. Meanwhile, the upper floor serves as a generous retreat for the parents, and includes a wellness area.
The centre of life thus sits on the villa’s ground floor, which also provides level access to the terraced garden. Here, the building is defined on two sides by glass walls. They seem to play with that free and yet most valuable of building materials: light. The clear and modern use of ceiling-height windows makes everything seem light and airy. Nothing restricts the view out onto the panorama of Wangen.
The sense of openness is only enhanced by the glossy surfaces which reflect light into the room in new and unexpected ways. The living area’s plank flooring creates a special sense of comfort. It also continues outside as a wooden walkway running around the house, easing the way into the garden. On the southern side, it seamlessly transitions into the terrace. Here, too, the design relies on the comfortable feeling of wood. Inside and outside transition fluently into one another, extending the living room all the way to the pool. The entire atmosphere invites the homeowners and their guests to spend time outside. The glass walls also play an important part in this, as they are no ordinary windows or even sliding doors – but rather retractable window fronts by HIRT kinetics®.
Seamless: Inside and outside transition fluently into one another. No threshold gets in the way when the window fronts are lowered.
What a view! In a place like this, “ordinary” walls made of stone just wouldn’t fit. Here, glass walls were needed to define the façade.
HIRT moving architecture® sets things in motion
The glass walls consist of a total of four elements from the HIRT kinetics® SF 90 series. With this model range, the designers at HIRT can easily set in motion up to 18 square meters of glass, measuring up to six meters in height or width and weighing up to roughly 1,500 kilograms. The special twist of HIRT kinetics®: The windows aren’t fixed inside a frame, nor do they sit on a rail like a sliding door. Rather, the retractable glass fronts sit on a supporting structure which is perfectly balanced by counterweights. A small engine in the house’s utility room is enough to silently set in motion the ceiling-high windows. Once they are fully retracted into the ground, no threshold remains which could mar the seamless transition between inside and outside. This is accomplished via the use of groove-cut stainless steel, which not only looks elegant, but also ensures complete flushness with the ground. The engineers at HIRT can thus proudly claim to have achieved true accessibility.
The blending of inside and outside happens all on its own. With the windows fronts retracted into the ground, the breathtaking view transforms the living space. You can feel the soft wind on your face, the rays of the sun tickle your skin, and the fragrances of Schwyz fill the room. Live, love, laugh – in moments like these all is right in the world.
HIRT kinetics® raiseable and lowerable windows are engineering made in Switzerland and meet every standard of modern, safe, and sustainable building. HIRT technology has proven itself all around the world and even in extreme weather conditions. HIRT moving architecture® thinks architecture differently – dynamically, moving walls and people.
