Roger Boltshauser - Rauch House

Rauch House

The Rauch House is not only a place to live and work, but also a display home where experimental applications of the material earth were tested. After initial attempts to set the building volume across the slope, the house now stands as an elongated cube in the line of the dip in the slope. Two strong incisions form terraces, anchoring the structure to the slope. 

The design of the rammed earth facades also helps to divide the volume. The brick layers serve as erosion brakes and articulate the top and bottom through differentiating spacing. The prominent window casements are set into the wall, emphasizing its thickness and mediating spatially as a connecting element to the landscape. Thanks to its location on the slope, the northern facade area of the house remains minimal while simultaneously benefiting from the sun’s heat input on the other facades.