Located in a rural area close to the town of Schiers in Switzerland, the house is a dwelling for a young family on land on an elevated position overlooking Stelserberg across the valley. Arranged over 3 floors to limit the substructure on the sloping terrain of the site, the gradient also presented another challenge to us in that the family required outdoor space directly accessible from the house, but we were all reluctant to excavate the site and construct expensive retaining walls. We all felt that this would unnecessarily damage the land and cause future maintenance and drainage issues. Instead voids were inserted into the ground and first floors creating outdoor terraces / loggia directly connected to the kitchen and living room areas and bringing natural light deep into the interior. The house is a heavily insulated timber frame externally clad with cedar boards. We chose untreated cedar due to its natural rot, decay and insect resistance as a building requiring regular external maintenance on such a site would be difficult. The cedar will transform to a silver / grey colour as the cladding ages and is weathered. As the landscape and weather are constantly changing and shifting, we and the family very much liked the concept that the house would also change over time - that is wasn't a static / fixed finish that did not age or mature.