Two simple words on a plain elevation drawing - “invisible house” - , a scale figure and some greenery. It took two years to convince city council to build this “absent” house on a slope. The client, who bought this desolate land on a hill, asked us if it was even possible to build something that deviated from the traditional rules which applied to the plot… “To be clear” he continued, “we build for ourselves, not for the architecture magazines, ok?”

The building regulations where clear: sloping roof, predefined window sizes, local brick,  “we want none of that “, the client continued, “we love the view to much to be constricted by predefined window sizes, we love the way nature shifts trough the seasons on this plot, we love the tranquility and are huge fans of rough concrete.  It would be mostly for the two of us enjoying the sunrise over the valley, but make sure our four adult kids can stay over anytime.” The brief was clear, as where the numerous evenings where we sat philosophizing about the new house. We have the habit to shock our clients in with an extreme pre-design with the intention to provoke a deeper conversation about their true needs. Each time reinventing the design approach based on the specific needs of the client, unexpected but very precisely modeled to their brief.