Architecture as directed space. Between openness, protection and geometry.

At the southwestern edge of Witikon, where the urban fabric gives way to open landscape, a four-storey residential building takes shape – deliberately positioned as an architectural solitary. The site sits slightly elevated above Eierbrechtstrasse, on a gentle slope that opens toward the south and west – with uninterrupted views extending to the horizon of Lake Zurich.

The building follows an elemental typology: a single volume, four floors, four apartments – one per level. This clear vertical stratification generates not only structural order, but also grants each dwelling a distinct spatial autonomy within the whole. The floor plans open to all four cardinal directions, creating a surprising spatial generosity and permeability, without drifting into arbitrariness.

The main façade faces south. Here, the building unfolds toward the landscape: expansive glazing frames the view of Lake Zurich, the sun, and the open sky. The interior visualization of the living space captures the essence of this orientation: a continuous spatial plane, bounded only by the horizon of treetops, acting as a visual filter between inside and out.

By contrast, the northeast façade is more restrained, yet by no means subordinate. Subtly articulated, it invites the morning light into the rooms and assumes an atmospheric role — a calm, structured surface that roots the house within the terrain. The vertical grain of the façade, as seen from the street-side approach, translates the slope’s topography into a quiet tectonic order.

The lateral façades, facing the neighbouring parcels, are intentionally more closed. Selectively placed openings serve a dual role: they allow for diagonal visual connections and illuminate deeper spatial zones without compromising the spatial integrity of the apartments or the privacy of the surroundings. Architecture here acts as a filter — not a threshold.

The spatial logic of the interiors is driven by this conscious orientation. In the bedroom, the rational structure of the building meets a quasi-topological geometry — the curvature of the massive concrete core creates an inward, composed spatial landscape, where light, material, and circulation condense to their essence.

The attic apartment opens in two directions simultaneously: toward the interior with a linear, stainless steel-framed kitchen, and outward through full-height glazing, transforming the surrounding vegetation into an immaterial tapestry. The black steel staircase not only connects to the rooftop terrace, but also concentrates vertical movement into spatial experience.

Ordo is a house that does not raise its voice — and precisely in that, it reveals its stance. Its architecture does not rely on expressive gestures, but on a finely balanced interplay of order, topography and light. The volume appears as if naturally placed, embedded in a terraced landscape that does not obscure the slope, but renders it legible. In the garden-side view, one senses how the volume withdraws, yet through its vertical articulation unfolds a presence that is both rational and poetic.

The façades speak quietly, but with precision: a dialogue with the site, the hours of the day, the neighbourhood — with the gaze.