Five Villas is a minimalist residential development located in Villarsel-le-Gibloux, Switzerland, designed by Noue Studio. This five-villa project demonstrates how new construction can integrate with both site topography and existing built fabric while maintaining distinct architectural identity. The triangular plot guided a staggered arrangement that breaks down the volumes and creates a more domestic scale, providing softer perception of the built form while ensuring each home maintains privacy and blends harmoniously into surroundings.
The staggered layout plays a key role in the roof composition, allowing overlapping pitched roofs while a flat roof at each volume’s center accommodates level shifts. This central zone houses circulation areas and sanitary facilities, adding both functional and visual rhythm to the overall design. The approach demonstrates how service spaces can generate architectural expression rather than being treated as leftover zones requiring concealment.
The houses spread over three levels following the natural slope of the land. The entrance on the east side is marked by covered parking space ensuring smooth functional access, while the west side opens main living areas directly onto ground-level gardens creating seamless indoor-outdoor transitions. The upper floor dedicates to bedrooms, offering unobstructed views of the surrounding landscape. This layout ensures clear separation between living and private spaces while making the most of the site’s natural topography.
Material choices were guided by durability, thermal performance, and connection to local architectural context. The architects opted for solid insulating brick, which provides better thermal inertia in both summer and winter. This masonry ensures greater stability and higher-quality rendering, as the plaster is applied to a solid surface, preventing cracks and ensuring long-term durability. The use of massive walls echoes traditional rubble stone constructions, reinterpreting the architectural heritage of local farmhouses.
The base of the houses is built in concrete, ensuring solid foundation anchored into terrain, while the upper floor constructs in wood, bringing lightness and warmth to living spaces. The architects chose a more eco-friendly concrete with higher clay content, which reduces carbon footprint while giving it a warm beige hue that blends naturally with other materials used in the project. To maintain natural materiality, lime plaster and anhydrite screeds replace cement, promoting better thermal and humidity regulation.
