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Jewel Box House by Design Paradigms

Located in Switzerland, Jewel Box is a residence, designed by Design Paradigms, situated on a long, narrow property with a significant slope. The design focuses on the lakefront views that open up towards the rear of the house. From the front, it looks fairly modest, but just take a look at how this jewel box opens up:

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To compensate for the incline, a long structure was decided on that would play out over split levels. An outer shell was designed to absorb the early morning heat, while a more transparent side allowed the hot afternoon sun to enter and activate a heat sink wall on the other side. The north side (the entrance) is more secure but with enough windows to let the light in.

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The zen-like villa opens up to the south so the homeowners can enjoy the view of the lake, which is one of the major bodies of water in the region.

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A variety of materials were chosen for the structure, including recycled concrete, steel, and wood. A living garden grows on the outer shell softening the look of the concrete.

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The outer shell looks to be leaning giving it the look that the structure is being opened up, much like a jewel box.

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Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.