Architect: Valerio Olgiati
Project: A House for the Musician
Location: Scharans, Switzerland
Date: 2006-2007
Built for the musician and poet Linard Bardill, this building occupies the site of a former barn, in the centre of Scharans, Switerland. Planning approval was only granted on the condition that the new building kept the same volume as the previous barn to maintain the characteristics of the protected historic town.
The required programme for the work was much smaller than the predetermined form. It only occupies a third of the footprint of the building. The excess space creates a courtyard which is monumentalised by the large round opening to the sky. This element is a contrast in scale and shape to the other parts of the building. It creates grandeur and clarity, which is juxtaposed to the small dimensions of the village surroundings.
Olgiati’s desire to create objects, self-explanatory works of architecture, which can be understood on the basis of the underlying concept rather than the context they sit in is perhaps the most distinctive feature of his architecture. Through his architecture he aims to produce buildings that make people think because they are confronted with something that they do not know; something which awakens their curiosity in the most serious and complex way. His method of doing this is by creating contradictions. This building contains a number of contradictions, from the choice of material, the use of ornamentation and the arrangement of the programme.
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