Oris.76 P.flammer Stockli

52 53Pascal Flammer, Stckli in Balsthal

Contained Geometries

fotografije photographs by

Stckli (House for a retired farmer), Balsthal, Switzerland

James R. Payne

Rodrigo da Costa Lima (RDCL)Ioana Marinescu (IM)

Pascal Flammer

The damp forests and limestone bluffs of the Jura mountains in the north-west of Switzerland have a more distinctly sober character than the Alps proper. At a strategically important point near Solothurn where the grain of long parallel valleys is broken by a transverse connecting valley, medieval fortresses tower dramatically over the quiet agricultural and industrial settlement below. Here, just outside the village of Balsthal, young Swiss architect Pascal Flammer has built his first project with unusual precision of concept and execution. The house sits in rural isolation within a field at the end of a valley with forest rising steeply on both sides. Although a suitable rural

(RDCL)

Uokvirene geometrije

napisaowritten by

Vlane ume i visoke vapnenake strmine jurskih planina na sjeverozapadu vicarske jo izraenije karakterizira hla-d noa nego same Alpe. Na strateki vanoj toki pokraj So-lothurna, gdje je smjer dugakih paralelnih dolina pre kinut dija gonalnom dolinom koja ih sve povezuje, srednjo vjekovne tvra ve dramatino se izdiu iznad tihih poljo pri vrednih i in-dustrijskih naselja. Ovdje, odmah pokraj sela Balsthal, mla-di vicarski arhitekt Pascal Flammer izgradio je svoj prvi pro jekt s neobinom preciznou koncepta i izvedbe. Kua je smjetena u ruralnoj izolaciji, unutar polja na kraju doline u ko joj se uma strmo izdie na obje strane. Premda se radi

Stckli (kua za umirovljenog farmera), Balsthal, vicarska

arhitektarchitect

54 55oris, number 76, year 2012 Pascal Flammer, Stckli in Balsthal

bathroom. The tall bedroom spaces extend to double height at the ridge, with glazed walls facing up or down the valley. The landscape is experienced comfortably from the slightly raised datum afforded by the sunken ground floor. There is a certain humour in the timber partitions that slide neatly into the Vitruvian-man scaled round windows. Even when these are closed, bisecting the circle, one is aware of the symmetrical other half and totality of the whole house. The structural concept is closely integrated with the spatial to raise the gabled volume above the largely glazed ground floor. Although the laminated timber structure is both concealed and exposed, its honour as a purely timber building is intact as there is no hidden steel to assist. The central spine wall is in fact a deep structural truss, as are the flanking walls despite being holed in the centre with the round windows. These are held together by the diagonal struts on the short ends that also tie the horizontal ground floor space to the lofty chambers above. Outside, the house is clad with black stained timber boarding with copper flashing and a standard tiled roof. The highly insulated house has a heat exchanger in the basement and requires little energy input. Inside, the spruce Triboard lined walls, floors and ceilings match the laminated timber columns and struts, even the curved walls encompassing the

retreat for the city-dwelling client, it is officially defined as a Stckli, a peripheral building belonging to a larger farm to accommodate the farmer when he retires. The only passers-by are inquisitive hikers making their way up the old Roman road as it climbs precipitously to a higher valley beyond. The object of their passing gaze is a dark timber gabled volume with overhanging eaves protecting the flank walls. The apparently simple and coherent whole on closer examination resolves into a secondary geometry, a noughts-and-crosses game of diagonal structural positives and round window negatives. Views in and through the house confirm that this is not merely elevational, but a clever spatial and structural puzzle in three dimensions. Descending a slight incline from the road, the front door under the eaves opens into a low, horizontal ground floor space. Sunk into the ground at the height of the desks that line the panoramic glazed perimeter, the architect describes it as a piazza-like space where the communal activity of the house takes place. The kitchen is cleverly positioned down one diagonal step and round the corner of a small wardrobe and cloakroom volume. Ascending the steel spiral stairs, the first floor plan is divided into four quadrants, bedroom spaces occupy three of these and the remaining quadrant has a triangular loft over the

(IM)

(IM)

oris, broj 76, godina 2012 Pascal Flammer, Stckli u Balsthalu

sobe, a preostali kvadrant ima trokutasto potkrovlje iznad ku-paonice. Visoki prostori spavaih soba dosiu dvostruku visinu kod sljemena krova, a stakleni zidovi gledaju u dolinu. Pejza se doivljava s ugodom, s malo poviene referentne toke, kakva se mogla postii ukopanim prizemljem. Postoji odreena do-za humora u pregradama od drveta koje lijepo klize u okrugle vitruvijanske prozore. ak i kada su zatvorene, raspolavljajui krug, postoji svijest o si metrinoj drugoj polovici i potpunosti cijele kue. Konstruktivni koncept ujedinjen je s prostornim ra di podizanja kosog volumena iznad velikoduno ostakljenog prizemlja. Iako je struktura od lameliranog drveta i skrivena i izloena, njezina je ast kao potpuno drvene graevine ne tak-nuta jer nema skrivenog elika koji bi potpomagao. Sredinji zid za pravo je glavni reetkasti nosa, kao to su to i boni zidovi, bez obzira na to to su u sredini probueni okruglim prozorima. Njih povezuju dijagonalni nosai na kraim krajevima, koji isto tako veu i prostor horizontalnog prizemlja i gornjih soba. Kua je izvana prekrivena drvenim daskama bajcanim u crno s bakrenim opavima i standardnim krovom s pokrovom od crijepa. Ova kua s izvrsnom izo lacijom ima sustav grijanja i hlaenja u podrumu uz malu potronju energije. Unutra zidovi, podovi i stropovi, koji su obloeni troslojnim panelima od smreke, potpuno od-govaraju lameliranim drvenim stu po vima i potpornjima, a ak

o primjerenom utoitu za klijenta koji ivi u gradu, kuu se slubeno definira kao stckli, to je periferna pomona zgrada koja pripada veem gospodarstvu, a slui za stanovanje seljaka kada se povue u mirovinu. Jedini prolaznici su radoznali iz-letnici to se penju prema staroj rimskoj cesti, koja se pak vrlo strmo uspinje prema udaljenoj dolini na veoj visini. Objekt nji hovih sluajnih pogleda volumen je s kosim krovom od tam nog drveta, s niskim strehama koje tite bone zidove. Na prvi pogled jednostavna i suvisla cjelina pri paljivijem se pro matranju pretvara u sekundarnu geometriju, u jednu igru kriia i kruia dijagonalnih strukturalnih pozitiva i okruglih prozorskih negativa. Pogledi u kuu i kroz nju potvruju kako ovo nije samo fasadna, nego i inteligentna prostorna i struk-tu ralna slagalica u tri dimenzije. Nakon silaska s ceste po bla goj nizbrdici, ulazna vrata ispod strehe otvaraju se u niski, horizontalni prostor prizemlja. Ukopan je u zemlju za visinu sto lova koji ograniavaju panoramsko ostakljene perimetre, a arhitekt ga opisuje kao prostor nalik na piazzu u kojem se odvijaju zajednike aktivnosti ukuana. Kuhinja je pametno pos tavljena uz jednu dijagonalnu stepenicu i iza ugla koji ine volumen malenog ugraenog ormara i garderobe. Popevi se po strmim spiralnim stepenicama od elika, tlocrt prvog kata razdijeljen je u etiri kvadranta, od kojih tri zauzimaju spavae


floor plan

ground floor plan

basement plan

tlocrt kata

tlocrt prizemlja

tlocrt podruma

cross section longitudinal section

popreni presjek uzduni presjek

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(IM)

detailed section

detaljni presjek



stairs are timber. Thin planes and chunky structural mem-bers alike take on a unified and almost concrete-like plastic quality. Overhanging rafters glimpsed through the circular windows reveal the structural tectonics of the gabled roof. No classifiable single constructional system has been used, it is not simply the product of technique, and pre-fabri cation has been used only so far as it serves the aims and logistics of the project. In its veneration of structure as being both spatial and symbolic this little house draws on a much wider architectural discourse, notably that of Japanese architect Kazuo Shinohara and the office of Valerio Olgiati, for whom Flammer worked as a project architect. While it might recall chalet or barn forms found in the vicinity, it possesses something else, this characterful house stands alone in this slightly eerie place as self-contained as the Na-po leonic soldier depicted in Caspar David Friedrichs pain-ting Chasseur in the Forest. The powerful domestic spa ces created here allow for a similarly deep contemplation of the landscape.

(IM)

(IM)


autor authorarhitektonski ured architectural office

investitor clientpovrina parcele site area

izgraena povrina built up areaneto povrina net area

projekt projectrealizacija completed

cijena costs

Stckli (kua za umirovljenog farmera), Rmerwtrasse 24, Balsthal, vicarskaStckli (house for a retired farmer), Rmerwtrasse 24, Balsthal, Switzerland

Pascal FlammerPascal Flammer architectural officeprivate / privatni600 m200 m186 m20102011nedostupna / undisclosed

su i za krivljeni zidovi koji obu hvaaju stepenice napravljeni od drveta. I tanke plohe i krup ni konstruktivni dijelovi slino jedni drugima pokazuju je dinstvenu plastinu kvalitetu koja gotovo nalikuje betonskoj struk turi. Istureni rogovi koje se moe vidjeti kroz okrugle prozore, otkrivaju konstruktivnu tektoniku kosog kro va. Nije koriten samo jedan konstrukcijski sustav koji bi se moglo klasificirati, ovo nije jednostavno proizvod tehnike, a pre fabrikacija je koritena samo utoliko koliko je sluila ciljevima i logistici projekta. U svojem potivanju strukture kao prostorne, a u isto vrijeme simbolike, ova malena kua crpi iz jednoga mnogo ireg arhitektonskog diskursa, osobito onog japanskog arhitekta Kazua Shinohare i Valerija Olgiatia za kojeg je Flammer radio kao projektant. I dok moda podsjea na oblike alpskih seljakih kua ili tagljeva kakvi se mogu nai u blizini, ona po sjeduje i neto drugo: ova kua s karakterom stoji sama na tom pomalo sablasnom mjestu kao onaj utljivi Napoleonov vojnik sa slike Lovac u umi Caspara Davida Friedricha. Ovdje stvoreni snani prostori doma na slian nain omo guavaju duboku kon templaciju pejzaa. www.swissworld.org

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Oris.76 P.flammer Stockli