An Architect’s Holiday House in Valais, Switzerland

Swiss architect Laurent Savioz of Savioz Fabrizzi Architects has transformed an existing structure in the fields of Ayent, Switzerland into a holiday house for his family.

Originally built as a barn in 1882, the building was then transformed into a house in the 1980’s through the addition of a second floor before Savioz gave it a more contemporary make-over in 2013. In choosing to keep the layers of the small building’s history exposed, the original stone base, the bricks added in the eighties and the contemporary concrete modifications have all been kept visible, albeit covered with a coat of dark paint to make them uniform. Efficient and spacious despite its small size, the house has large glass doors that open generously into the surrounding fields and forest. As for the alpine cold, solar panels and a wood stove were installed to keep the holiday-makers warm.

About the designers

Savioz Fabrizzi Architects is an association founded in 2004 by Laurent Savioz and Claude Fabrizzi, based in Sion, Switzerland. Sensitive about the cultural context of architecture and its functions, the firm has completed several projects in the residential, commercial and hospitality sectors.