An invisible “troglodyte” design home

There is a house on the market that looks nothing like a conventional home! This house is somewhat unusual: it is a cave house and the body of the building is located underground. The architects behind this marvel are Bjarne Maestenbroek and Christian Müller.

They chose to dig the dart and construct this unassuming house of 225 square meters in the Swiss village of Vals, nestled in the heart of the Swiss Alps. This is an interesting alternative to ordinary houses and it is a decision based on the principle of a discreet lifestyle. In addition to the striking feature of being invisible, this house was tastefully decorated and it boasts of a surprising design.

The main objective of the project was to minimize the visual impact of buildings on the terrain so that the houses appear as a natural part of the landscape, which is why the roof and the sides of most of this house are covered with local vegetation.

Mission accomplished! The façade of the house that is exposed to light is composed of a multitude of windows to allow for maximum natural light so that the inhabitants will forget that the house is underground.

The interesting fact is that the earth provides good thermal and acoustic insulation; therefore, it keeps the house warm in winter and cool in summer!  Don’t forget that at a certain depth (varying by region), the temperature is constant. The cost of energy for heating this house  is therefore very low.

The architects have also worked on a total respect for nature. Made of a stone structure, this house was built on a hillside. What we cannot see is that it has two entrances. A main one overlooking a beautiful landscape and a second  one in a barn nearby that takes you there by a subterranean path.

This unusual, but very modern infrastructure was built to serve as a guest house or holiday home. For those who want to experience living here, it can accommodate about 10 people and prices vary between 950 and 3850 Euros depending on the season. Certainly, this house does resembles a cave, but it is indeed a place of comfortable and cozy life, particularly as this type of accommodation is spacious, airy, well lit, with access to drinking water and electricity facilities.

What a wonderful life for these cave dwellers, eh? 😉