jan kinsbergen realizes his house in nidau to celebrate mies van der rohe's unbuilt work

in nidau, swiss architect jan kinsbergen realizes a residential concept that is at once simple and ambitious. the house stands as a contemporary revitalization of the modernist movement of the 20th century — expressing a thoughtful clarity through its materiality and organization. the zürich-based designer seeks to bring to life a reinterpretation of the unbuilt ‘fifty by fifty house’ project imagined by mies van der rohe in 1951. noting this influence, kinsbergen comments: ‘when I worked in new york, I used to visit the MoMA quite often. in the mies van der rohe exhibition, I discovered the model of the 50 x 50 house… four columns, a plate, a free space.’

images © georg aerni | @jan_kinsbergen

architect jan kinsbergen interrupts the traditional residential fabric of the swiss town of nidau with his modernist revitalization. the designer continues: ‘since the prototype never got built, the concept intrigued me even more.’ the mies design was defined by an occupiable, central core enclosed by a 50 foot-square glass volume — its flat stacked roof elevated by only four columns located along the middle of each face. kinsbergen works within the compact site which offered a buildable area of 12.5 meters, just over 40 feet. the glass volume is elevated above a sunken drive, allowing access from below rather than from the ground level. although the footprint is minimized, the nidau house rises three levels, introducing an opportunity for dramatic, cantilevering balconies. 

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project info:

project title: house in nidau

architecture: jan kinsbergen | @jan_kinsbergen

location: nidau, switzerland

photography: georg aerni