THE MODERN HOUSE VII: HOUSE AT LEYMEN (RUDIN HOUSE)
Architects: Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Location: Leymen (Haut-Rhin), France Date: 1996/97 Patron: Hans-Peter Rudin
With the Rudin House, Herzog + de Meuron set out to prove that an alpine address need not imply a Swiss châlet. Constructed of poured concrete and roofed with industrial tar paper, the house is resolutely unquaint. The concrete plinth in which it is built suppresses any potentially picturesque traces of a steep mountain inclination. At first glance, the box-like structure, over-sized, asymmetrically-placed windows and forgotten front door (the tiny, unceremonious entrance is hidden under the plinth) might recall a child’s awkward drawing of a house affixed to the refrigerator by a magnet.
The Rudin House, however, is neither naïve nor is it an exercise in neo-brutalism. The overriding aesthetic is more of a qualified minimalism—a specific object without the elegant machined surface treatment. This is confirmed by the plain geometric volumes and subdued mainly monochrome color schemes of the interior spaces. The dramatic deviation from the norm takes place in the bathroom, where a normally small, utility room is treated like a great hall, with a dramatically-pitched ceiling and soaring two-story elevation. This deliberate rupture prevents the interior of the house from becoming a regression of neat rectilinear parcels.
At the Rudin House, ideology recapitulates geography. Just as the commune of Leymen straddles the French-Swiss border, Herzog + de Meuron reject the meretricious snuggery and mindless historicism of the neighboring structures, without lapsing into doctrinaire, minimalist good taste. This balancing act will be repeated in the architects’ subsequent, high-profile expansion and renovation projects.
