Renowned Swiss architect Christian Kerez has completed a remarkable residential project in Salzburg that redefines the relationship between interior and exterior space through a bold exploration of transparency and geometric form. The house, created for fashion designer Hannah Zundel and her family, embodies a sophisticated synthesis of glass, steel, and concrete that its creators describe as architectural origami. This distinctive dwelling reflects the owners' deep appreciation for Japanese aesthetics while demonstrating how contemporary residential architecture can harmonize with traditional garden settings. The project represents a significant addition to Kerez's portfolio of experimental structures that challenge conventional notions of structural possibility and spatial experience.
The building's most striking feature is its extensive use of glass panels arranged in complex, angular configurations that recall folded paper sculptures, giving rise to the origami metaphor. Large cantilevered sections appear to float weightlessly above the landscaped grounds, creating dramatic overhangs that provide shelter while maintaining visual openness. Steel structural elements remain deliberately visible, their precise geometry emphasizing the technical virtuosity required to realize such an ambitious design. Concrete surfaces provide textural contrast and thermal mass, grounding the otherwise ethereal composition. The interplay of these three primary materials generates constantly shifting patterns of light and shadow throughout the day, transforming the interior atmosphere as sunlight filters through the multifaceted glazed surfaces and reflects off polished floors.
Transparency serves as both a conceptual and functional principle throughout the residence, dissolving traditional boundaries between domestic space and nature. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer unobstructed views of the carefully curated garden, which itself draws inspiration from Japanese landscape design principles. The landscape and architecture engage in continuous dialogue, with each outdoor vista framed like a living painting visible from multiple vantage points within the home. This integration extends to the building's environmental performance, where strategic glazing orientation maximizes passive solar gain during cooler months while deep overhangs prevent overheating in summer. The result is a dwelling that feels simultaneously protected and exposed, private yet connected to its surroundings in ways that conventional houses rarely achieve.
Kerez, known internationally for pushing the limits of structural engineering and spatial complexity, approaches each project as an investigation into what architecture can become. His previous works include the perforated concrete canopy of the Lehner Garage in Zurich and the dramatically twisted office building at the University of East London, each exploring themes of instability and transformation. The Salzburg house continues this trajectory while introducing a more intimate scale appropriate for family life. The architect's characteristic interest in creating spaces that challenge occupants' perceptions remains evident in unexpected sightlines, double-height volumes that compress and expand, and moments where interior and exterior materials visually merge. These techniques encourage residents to experience their daily routines with heightened awareness of spatial relationships.
For Salzburg, a city celebrated for its baroque architecture and UNESCO World Heritage status, the house represents a bold statement about contemporary design's place within a historically sensitive context. Rather than mimicking traditional Salzburg forms, Kerez's intervention creates a respectful counterpoint that acknowledges the present while honoring the past. The project demonstrates how modern architecture can contribute to architectural discourse in historic cities without compromising their character. Fashion designer Hannah Zundel's involvement suggests the house also functions as a creative sanctuary where her own design sensibilities can intersect with architectural innovation, potentially influencing her approach to fashion through daily immersion in thoughtful spatial composition.
The glass house exemplifies a growing trend among affluent European clients who commission architecturally significant residences that prioritize conceptual clarity over conventional luxury. By choosing Kerez, known for his intellectual rigor and experimental approach, the Zundel family invested in a home that is simultaneously a functional dwelling and a work of art. The project raises important questions about privacy, sustainability, and the evolving definition of domestic comfort in the twenty-first century. As photographs of the structure begin circulating in architectural publications, the house is likely to influence both professional discourse and client aspirations, cementing Kerez's reputation as an architect capable of translating complex theoretical positions into compelling built realities that respond sensitively to both client needs and broader cultural contexts.
