Book dossier

Zumikon Residence

by Charles Gwathmey

"Charles Gwathmey and Robert Siegel have been known for their extraordinary modern residences since Gwathmey built the renowned house and studio for his parents in Amagansett, New York, in 1965. Since then, the firm has built a great variety of projects around the world, including the noted addition to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the American Museum of the Moving Image, both in New York, and the Busch Reisinger Museum addition to the Fogg Museum at Harvard University. The subject of this book, the Zumikon Residence in Switzerland, is the latest example of the firm's houses. The client requested a work of architecture that would accommodate both the family and their extensive art collection; the result is this masterful composition that stands on a steep hill overlooking the Alps and Lake Zurich. Four building elements - an entry building with garage and kitchen, a linear gallery with dining room above, a cylindrical 'fulcrum' housing the music room/library and master bedroom, and the living room and children's quarters - are grouped around the major outdoor space, a pool terrace, much as a small town is centered around a square or green. The building is a 'house as village,' as Gwathmey writes, an assemblage that creates a sense of place"--Book jacket.