CDMDW

The roughly 6,000 m2 site for CDMDW in Montreux is a topographic anomaly on Lake Geneva: a small, steep hill oriented east-west, obstructing direct views to the south and the lake. The resulting views toward the west are directed nearly parallel to the shore, reaching far along the lake past the Lavaux vineyards.

Besides this topographical starting point, the project is substantially determined by a rather peculiar paragraph in the municipality of Montreux's zoning ordinance, which permits twice the number of houses if these are arranged in pairs less than 4 meters apart. What results is three paired homes that seem as if they were handcuffed to one another, and which, despite their proximity, allow for as much privacy as possible as well as views in the same direction.