The Camenzind Liegenschaften AG and LakeSideDevelopment AG realized the project with two apartment buildings, each containing four different spacious flats. Noble, natural materials, ecological technologies, and traditional crafts are in harmony with the clear, minimalistic architectural language. Here tradition and modernity form a unity, an unseen familiar, something special: “SagenBach”.

The house is located above a megalithic retaining wall directly on the Seestrasse. Firmly clasped by the steep slope, the building does not reveal its true size from the outside. Despite and because of its three floors, the house connects to the ground on every floor. The most varied outdoor areas, which complement and enrich the rooms of the house, are created: Interior becomes exterior, the exterior becomes interior.

The building does not have a closure, it protrudes into the landscape, connects with the steepness of the slope and with the verticality of the forest trees in the background. The rooms inside are in direct dialogue with the landscape. Nature is involved in space and becomes part of the rooms. Depending on the weather, the time of the day or the season, the views change and, like paintings, they only can be experienced visually. The roof connects seamlessly with the landscape and becomes itself a part of nature. In this garden, all senses are addressed. Wild animals are here welcome and at home. As a matter of fact, the building surface has been given back to nature.

House4Lakes reinvent the typology of the old neighboring villas and mark the entrance into the development Grabacher (see no.54). From the outside, the house appears as a self-contained monolith. Inside each room opens to its own views. In the middle of the house, a five meters high dining room separates and simultaneously connects the two lateral wings. The owner residence is placed east connected with the master bedroom and a large roof terrace on the top of the house. The guest rooms are situated in the west wing. The building was built as far as possible with prefabricated wood construction elements. Concrete has been used only where the building structure touched the slope.

Inspired by the beauty of the flora nearby, the second phase of the Grabacher development (see no.54) is named “Dryade” after Greek divinities presiding over trees. Each villa received the name of one of four Dryad sisters: Orea, Balanis, Karya, and Syke. They were supernaturally long-lived, tied to their homes and celebrated for their beauty. Like wood nymphs, the villas are in direct exchange with the environment, preserving and emphasizing nature’s beauty. Without visible borders and deep-rooted in nature, the houses are part of the natural environment, keeping the balance between nature and modern living.