London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Swiss Mix

Swiss Mix

Built for a young family of Spartan-minded clients, architect Felix Oesch's spare, concrete prefab outside of Zurich is a marvel of clean living.

The house is located on the busy Schaffhauserstrasse, which links Switzerland to Germany, and therefore part of Oesch's brief was to reduce noise and orient the building toward the nearby Rhine.



Meili and Anais lounge on a Transform sofa by Moroso.



The office includes the Living Tower designed by Verner Panton for Vitra.



For a nation of only 7.5 million, Switzerland has always punched well above its weight in terms of design. During the interwar years, the "Swiss Style" played a pioneering role in contemporary graphic design; today Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra leads the pack, and the likes of Herzog & de Meuron and Peter Zumthor reside at architecture’s bleeding edge. Of course, the country was also the birthplace of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, or Le Corbusier, as he’s better known.

It’s impossible not to think of Corbu as I step out of the car and on to the driveway of Christof Meili and Farzaneh Moinian’s home. Although only two years old, it owes a significant debt to the godfather of modernism, as its architect, Felix Oesch, is happy enough to confess. "There was never a discussion about style," he tells me. "When Christof and Farzaneh told me one day that they’d seen the Petite Maison, then for me it was clear. My design would fit."



The house is a short walk from the center of Eglisau, a small town 20 minutes from Zurich Airport, on a slope between the bustling Schaffhauser-strasse, which links Switzerland to Germany, and the Rhine. The manner in which the house functions is largely dictated by its locale. The architect’s job was to reduce the noise from the road and orient the building south toward the beautiful, almost emerald green river. However, its look was a more personal choice and perhaps betrays the couple’s roots in design and architecture. Meili trained as an urban planner before becoming an IT consultant, and Moinian is an industrial designer, working on projects such as the Transrapid system for Deutsche Bahn and interiors for Swiss International Air Lines when not looking after their 14-month-old daughter, Anaïs. The pair, who met when their companies shared an office space, commissioned Oesch after seeing one of his houses in a Swiss design magazine.



As all four of us sit down for an impromptu barbecue, it’s plain that aesthetically both architect and clients sing from the same hymn sheet. "We were really lucky," confirms Meili, "because Farzaneh and I have the same taste. We both wanted a modern, minimal concrete house." Handy, because that’s precisely what they got.

Descend a flight of steps from the parking area and open the heavy larch timber entrance door, and you arrive into a huge kitchen, dining, and living space that Oesch describes as "a strange kind of church," and which provides a panoramic view of the Rhine and neighboring woods. The link is a partially covered deck, where we’re currently sitting, that allows the family to eat outside even when it’s raining.



Down the banisterless stairs, there is a second living room as well as two decent-size bedrooms-one for Anaïs, the other presently spare-and a rather intriguing bathroom, intriguing because it’s a mirror image of itself: A pair of toilets sit side by side, and there are two sinks and a pair of showers. It can be left as one linear space or divided by a sliding door, presumably for when their daughter begins to demand some privacy. "We wanted it to have the feeling of the length of the house," says Meili. Natural light comes in via a letterbox-shaped window that runs the length of the outside wall and another slot window that allows you to look out into the garden as you’re having a bath. It’s a nice touch. Last, but by no means least, is an understated master bedroom furnished with a storage cupboard, a double futon bed, a mirror, and not much else.



Though the house is pristine, the garden, somewhat surprisingly, has a rougher feel to it. Judging from the couple’s taste in cool minimalism one might be forgiven for expecting their lawn to resemble the 18th green at Augusta. However, this is a family that enjoys the outdoors. They regularly swim in the Rhine after work (which explains the outdoor shower) and the kayaks hanging by the log pile allude to Meili’s competitive background in the sport. So perhaps their slightly unusual agreement with a local farmer makes sense: When the grass is ready and the wildflowers are out, he brings a flock of his sheep to graze, and the gardening is thus done easily and organically. Oesch explains the reasoning behind this: "I didn’t want to change the landscape. I wanted the house to look like it’s always been here."

Which of course it hasn’t. In fact, it took nine months to build the house using a prefabricated panel system developed by the German manufacturer Syspro that’s more commonly used for building cellars rather than entire houses. Each panel is made up of two outer layers of 2.4-inch-thick concrete, which act as the bread of the sandwich. Inside there’s a core layer of concrete as well as seven inches of insulation. This means the panels, which arrived onsite with all the holes cut for the fixtures and fittings, are relatively light and easy to maneuver. Subsequently, construction was a question of fitting them all together like pieces of Lego.



For Oesch the benefits of the process are obvious. "I like prefab because you’ve got all the control in your office. You have most of the control working on the plan and not working onsite. I don’t really like working onsite-I don’t like to scream at people. When I know it’s right, I know it’s right. I don’t need to discuss it."

The house is also hugely efficient. Geothermal energy for hot water and under-floor heating (which negates the need for ugly radiators) is provided by a pair of 300-foot-deep boreholes that transfer warmth from the ground to the house through a heat pump. Meanwhile, used air is taken out from the bathroom and kitchen and pumped back into the earth, effectively storing its energy for a later date. Heating and cooling air is pumped into every other living area of the house. Elsewhere, the concrete flume on a fireplace in the downstairs living room provides some thermal mass for the whole house. All told, this is a remarkably inexpensive house to heat. In fact, the architect jokes that the huge light sculpture, made up of two rows of bulbs, hanging from one of the walls in the main living space uses as much energy as the rest of the house put together.



Wandering around, two things are instantly clear: This is a couple who loathe clutter and have a passion for contemporary furniture. The house is littered with design classics-Verner Panton being a particular favorite. Even the miniature furniture in their daughter’s bedroom, which has been in the family for two generations, has a touch of Jean Prouvé about it. And there’s absolutely no mess. To live like this takes a good deal of rigor and plenty of storage. Look around and everything has crisp, clean lines.

In the kitchen, for instance, the stove’s extractor hood is hidden, only popping up from the counter when it’s required.

Naturally, I’m intrigued by how the relatively recent addition of Anaïs has changed the way they live. Is it possible to have a young child and maintain this level of super-tidy minimalism? "Life is just different in general," shrugs Moinian, seemingly unfazed, "and I’m not working all the time now so that’s different as well." "I think we won’t have a big playing area," Meili chips in. "We really like a minimal space." And while they’ll almost certainly have to make adaptations when their daughter starts toddling, I’m inclined to believe them.



The relationship between architect and client can be extremely fraught in a major building project, yet if there were any problems during this process then it’s almost impossible to detect as our meal draws to a close and we go for a walk around the chocolate box–beautiful town. In fact it would seem the scheme has turned clients and architect into firm friends.

As I make my way back to Zurich airport in Oesch’s pickup truck, it strikes me that for all the concrete and iron discipline, the neat trick they’ve pulled off is giving a house that in the wrong hands might have turned into a museum piece a sense of warmth.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×