2 - Chesa Futura, St Moritz, Switzerland

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This bubble of second home apartments is built right into the Swiss picturesque landscape overlooking St Moritz and its lake. Swanky indside and out and totally retro, the Chesa Futura sits in a quaint setting in winter overlooking the snow-covered surroundings, the icy lake and is at one with the blue summer skies. Graceful and somewhat chirpy in appearance, the round-bellied larch wood structure sits on stilts right at the edge of a slope and seems to glow gold under the sun's rays. At one with its surroundings, its shape makes no abrupt rupture with the valley of St Moritz. Nicknamed the House of the future, it is an example of how new residential buildings can work in harmony with the environment. Further emphasising this environmental aspect is the use of larch shingle: with age the shingle will turn grey thus portraying the effect of the environment on the modern structure which will eventually 'recede' back into the natural environment of the timber used. Furthermore, the locally-sourced materials do not have far to travel before reaching the site, wasting less energy. Local building traditions were also an important consideration at the conception of the design. Apart from using locally-sourced traditional building materials, Foster has also lifted the building off the ground so that it sits on stilts, in-keeping with traditional Swiss farm architecture; farms which are lifted off the ground to avoid moisture and pests. Far from the angular square multi-storey structures popping up all over the place, the three-storey building is light, fluid and blends into the valley making one wish for more initiatives of this kind in developing zones all over the globe!

Co-architects: Kuchel Architects

Text: Rooksana Hossenally. Photo: Nigel Young for Foster+Partners

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