A Stylish Swiss Eco Home Nestled Into The Hillside

Architectural Design and Unique Access

Like a little rabbit burrow in the side of the hill, this-this eco-home in the Swiss village of Vals is the perfect getaway for any occasion. Villa Vals is a detached house that's close to a famous thermal bath. Villa Vals was designed by Bjarne Mastenbroek and Christian Müller from SeARCH and CMA two architecture firms. Their goal was to create a cottage that wouldn't disturb the landscape, so they decided to build it into the hill. The only way to get to the cottage is through a barn and a tunnel that goes through the mountainside. So it's actually an adventure to even get there making it even more exciting. The front face of the home rests like a bowl in the hillside sloped into the hill. The home was finished in 2009 and is now available to rent out for vacations. The design is a mix between contemporary Dutch Design and traditional building. It looks like something you'd see in the Lord Of The Rings or maybe even a science fiction movie. The cottage is 1,722 in size, but only the face of it shows from the outside, the rest is buried in the earth. As many as ten to twelve people can stay in the cottage at a time, so there is actually more space than there seems to be in this cottage just from seeing it on the outside. On the outside, the home is surrounded by a lovely garden which creates some nice privacy. Small stone steps lead up to the home where there is a concrete slab for the patio where people can sit out and enjoy the scenery.

Surrounding Area and Environmental Considerations

This is a wonderful area to visit, not only for the thermal baths but also for the architecture and scenery. In the village also has renewable energy supplied by the Zervrella hydroelectric power station. They even have what they call the milk pipeline which supplies milk to the village in the summer from 2000 m up. The large façade of the home includes lots of windows and openings which allows the incredible views of the mountains in and also fills the space with light at the front. The property owners weren't sure that city planners would approve of the building, but they ended up liking this design because it didn't impose on the landscape. So it shows us what types of buildings would be best suited for places like this and that it is possible to build a home without impacting the surrounding landscape. The entrance into the home is off of the terrace where there is quite a lot of space to sit and storage for wood. There's also a hot tub out on the terrace as well which would be incredible to sit in at night to look at the beautiful night sky full of stars.

Interior Design and Amenities

Inside, the home is not what you might think it would be. The walls are covered with concrete to provide encasement within the ground. Then, they have created a series of arches out of wood to add even more stability and some visual interest as well as some storage. There is a bed right at the front of the home as well as a small wood burning fireplace which would have no problem keeping this underground cabin warm. Further into the home is the kitchen which is huge, including every appliance needed and a lot of food prep space. The living room is on the other side of the wall and equally as large, and there are a couple of other bedrooms as well. Each room has light from the windows thanks to the designers keeping all of the rooms toward the front of the house. What an incredible design. Would you spend some time here?