Architecture Design - Vitra Haus By Herzog & de Meuron
the concept of the ‘vitrahaus’ connects two themes which are occurring in the architectural practice of herzog & de meuron: the theme of the archetypal house and that of stacked volumes. the five-storey structure is comprised of 12 ‘houses’ – five houses are set at the base in which seven other houses are stacked upon one another. each of the structural volumes appear as if they have been shaped by an extrusion press and are cantilevered up to 15 meters in some places.
the floor slabs intersect the underlying gables, resulting in a three-dimensional assemblage or ‘pile of houses’.the ‘vitrahaus’ has a daytime view of the surrounding landscape, while in the evening the perspective is reversed.
During the day, one gazes out of the house, and when darkness falls, the ‘vitrahaus’ interior glows, the rooms open up and the physical structure of the house seems to dissipate. the glazed gable ends turn into display cases that shine across the vitra campus and the surrounding countryside.
the maximum dimensions of the structure are: 57 metres in length, 54 metres in width and 21.3 metres in height, rising above the other buildings on the vitra campus. the design intention was not to create a horizontal building, but a vertically oriented structure, which provides an overview of the surrounding landscape and the vitra factory premises.
