Flexhouse, Meilen at Lake Zurich

You specialize in User-Centered Design. What do you focus on?
Stefan Camenzind: We want to understand human needs—both today’s and those for the future. This applies to both housing and office spaces. This has often been forgotten in recent years. We design buildings for people. There is often talk about urbanism and ecology, which are certainly very important factors, but the users are hardly discussed at all. I believe that this is an important part of the design process. The purpose of architecture is based on the needs of the users who inhabit the building.

You have designed workplace concepts for various branches of Google. What are your experiences?
SC: When you look at a typical workplace, you see that most people have a desk, chair, and storage cabinet. This is the case almost everywhere. However, it is not possible for everyone to have the same needs. This is where the potential of user-centered design comes to light. Such design increases motivation, work efficiency, and strengthens emotional connections. As we know from executed projects, fewer mistakes occur, which positively reflects on work quality. It doesn’t matter whether it's a house or an office complex.

How can the concept of spatial arrangement contribute to this?
SC: For young people looking for jobs, money is not the only important factor. They want to belong to a community with which they can share their values. They want to identify with the company. Space is an element that strongly supports this identification.

Your goal is to strengthen the sense of belonging in the workplace. What is your philosophy?
SC: We need to allow people to collaborate better. And we also need to give each individual more freedom. Because it is actually paradoxical: at home, I decide every day where I will read the newspaper or in which room I will pay my bills. Will I do it at the dining table, at the desk, or perhaps in the study? I can decide for myself what activity I will perform in which environment. At the workplace, this is prohibited. It’s established that all activities should take place in one location, which is never the case at home.

By the way, regarding private life - with Flexhouse by Lake Zurich, you realized the project of an architecturally extraordinary residential house. How did it come by its name?
SC: The house does not seem as static as other houses. It is much more dynamic, full of movement. And it looks like a ship that has just landed.

How did such an unusual form come about?
SC: Several interplaying positive factors influenced the house's appearance. The narrow shape of the plot, converging to a point, was decisive. The plot is not rectangular, which gives it a certain dynamism. Additionally, there is the dynamic of the railway line running behind the buildings, the dynamism of the lake, and the dynamism of the slope. From these dynamic influences arose a house that can manage the surrounding movement but also allow this movement to enter and give it breadth.

What was crucial for the choice of materials?
SC: The object is relatively simple. The individual floors are always terminated on one side with a semicircle of wooden arches, creating an impression of movement. The house is very bright, with a light interior. We have wooden floors and white walls. We want to bring light and the wonderful surroundings inside to create a sense of connection between the interior and exterior.

What requirements did you have for the house?
SC: I wanted to be able to let everything go, relax, blend in with nature, and feel good because of the rounded shapes. Even though I am in the house, I am connected to the outside world. I feel the sky, the sun, I see the wind. It is a contrast to the hectic working world. It was not about a cool effect, but about creating spaces where one feels good. The house fascinates because it radiates this naturalness. It attracts. It is like a nest that one feels like curling up in. I believe these are qualities that are architecturally important for residential buildings.

The front of the house features a glass façade, and the curves show templates that look like a pillow cover. What does this signify?
SC: Those arches have quite a bit of movement power. It was important to find a cladding that captures this movement well. We tested many materials, but we kept returning to the idea of old wooden shingles from church towers. They accommodate this movement quite naturally, giving the house a certain texture and softness. However, for many reasons, we did not want to work with wooden shingles. The aluminum template, a modern variant of wooden shingles, was a perfect substitute.

How did you learn about PREFA roof templates? What was deciding for the use of this material?
SC: PREFA tower shingles - small roof templates have the advantage of not being rectangular like standard shingles. They have a special shape that radiates calm. They give the roof a nice texture, close to nature. In nature, curves occur more often than rectangles—that is what PREFA roof templates have in common. This corresponds with the idea that curves bring nature into the house.

What other factors were important?
SC: The simplicity of installation. The object looks simple, but geometrically it is very complex because the floor plan is trapezoidal. This results in tilted cuts that cannot be avoided. PREFA roof templates handled this challenging geometry perfectly. This material does not need to be forced to behave in ways it doesn't want to; it can be handled completely naturally.

Was the use of PREFA material a first for you?
SC: Yes, and I was pleasantly surprised at how suitable this material is. I really feel like thinking about other projects where we could use this material, because its surface structure, processability, and cost-effectiveness are truly convincing. And its plasticity is great.

What are the reactions to Flexhouse?
SC: Various, but all positive. I find it amazing that people walking by are interested in the house, even though they are not architectural enthusiasts. And I must say I’m a bit surprised myself. One designs a house, has ideas, but does not know how one will feel once living in it. In the Flexhouse, it is easy to switch off. The office feels far away all of a sudden, even though I have only been home for five minutes. I am very surprised at how much the house does for me as a resident and how it helps me to relax. Living here feels like being on vacation.

Small roof template with a big effect

It decorates the onion domes in the Vatican and also emphasizes the dynamic shapes of Flexhouse. A successful modern interpretation of a traditional material.
Small roof template - tower shingles, as labeled in the PREFA product catalog, adorn spires, canopies, or chimneys. But not just those... "It is an honor for us that this technical solution was applied to the Flexhouse project. After the team of architects presented us with the concept of an elegant dynamic shape of the house's shell, we immediately began searching for suitable material. Although the PREFA tower shingle - small roof template is rather atypical for such a façade concept, it corresponded to technical requirements in this case. With the template, we successfully managed the rounding, dynamically appealing façade, and asymmetrical shapes as well as the connection points," explains the situation Stefan Wildi. Wildi has been with the company PREFA for six years as an expert advisor and one year as a project developer in the cantons of Zurich and Aargau.

Effective implementation of good ideas

"The small template was used very modernly in the case of Flexhouse. The system, which is considered traditional, performed perfectly. Visually, it is very impressive,” says Wildi, adding: "Due to its small dimensions, the material is storm-resistant, absolutely does not corrode because aluminum does not rust, and it is very lightweight. Good ideas can thus be implemented cost-effectively."

One material, many possibilities

In the future, aluminum as a material could be very interesting, especially in Switzerland. "Given the limited amount of construction land, we will have to build upwards. With PREFA systems, many solutions for this situation arise. Sustainability and the long life of the material is, of course, guaranteed," explains Stefan Wildi.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Project name: Flexhouse, Meilen Zurich
Country: Switzerland
Object, location: private residential house, Zurich
Building type: new construction
Architects: Stefan Camenzind, Evolution Design, Zurich       
Roof type: PREFA small format roof template
Roof color: pure white
PHOTOGRAPHY: Croce & WIR