This glazed house built from thick concrete slabs was created by Swiss architect Gian Salis to comply with the slope of a plant-covered hill in Germany’s Rhine Valley .
Situated in the German area of Grenzach-Wyhlen on the banking institutions of the River Rhine, House on a Slope sits on a hillside that was after utilized as a vineyard but is now overgrown with mature trees, shrubs and grasses.
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From its perch on the hillside, huge windows get in views in excess of the valley and river, and across to the city of Basel across the Swiss border.
“The home was made as if the structural work would have existed for some time and the interior outfitting came only now,” explained Gian Salis, “therefore arose ‘in-in between rooms’ that give the house its openness”.
The thick concrete floor and roof slabs are supported at each corner by a square-segment concrete column.
The exterior is rendered with a smooth clay plater, while inside the concrete is left exposed and the floors are covered in a cement screed. Partition walls, doors and cupboards are created of a contrasting warm-toned pine plywood.
“As far as possible all of the components are employed in their raw states, and are meant to assume their all-natural patina over time,” said the architect.
A garage and workshop are set into the ground floor of the residence, with a small concrete patio shaded by the overhang of the floor slab from the degree over.
Stepping stones lead up the hillside at the side of the developing to a gravelled entrance for the 1st-floor bedrooms, whilst an ancillary path leads onto a terrace and into the living and dining places on the uppermost floor.
Three bedrooms, separated by pine-chipboard partitions and fronted by huge windows, face in direction of the valley.
Wardrobes, dressing rooms and a bathroom are found behind an untreated concrete wall on the other side of a central hallway dealing with into the privacy of the earth slope. Cantilevering concrete methods planted into this wall lead up to the open-strategy living and dining spot above.
Upstairs, the glazed walls of the residing space are set away from the edge of the concrete slab, making an L-shaped terrace along the front and a single side of the level.
Thin metal balustrades produced from pieces of rolled stainless steel enclose the stairwell. This detail is carried onto the facade of the house, where railings run around the periphery of the terrace.
The protruding roof protects the interior spaces from overexposure to sunlight in summer season, while also assisting to retain heat in winter. Linen curtains and slatted blinds shade the glazing internally.
“The various projections of the storey ceilings type terraces and protruding roofs, creating particular exterior spaces as counterparts to every single interior area,” explained the architect.
Wide plywood doors slide across the cement floors to divide the kitchen from the dining spot and sitting room.
Ground floor program 
Initial floor plan 
Second floor plan 
Segment a single 
Area two Dezeen
