When Victoria-Maria Geyer was introduced with an chance to structure a dwelling in Zurich, it felt like a desire come genuine. That the home was a Brutalist masterpiece by renowned Swiss architect Ernst Gisel was—for the Hamburg-born, Brussels-centered inside designer—a career-defining second. “When the owners questioned me to arrive on board, I had to do this,” Geyer suggests, pinching her personal hand. “They sent me shots of the property, and straight away I was seduced.” The gravitational pull of the property lured Geyer from Brussels to Zurich with the endeavor of incorporating heat and texture to concrete and metal.
Found in Küsnacht, a rich enclave some 15 minutes by motor vehicle from Zurich’s city center, the home was obtained by the customers in 2021. When the shell of the framework was a Brutalist marvel, the interiors left a whole lot to be wished-for. “The earlier owners lived in the house as it was built,” explains Geyer. “There’s a expression in French, dans son propre jus, which means to soak in kinds juice. That was the trouble with the interiors. So I had to go in and seriously alter the ambiance.”
What helps make inside renovations hard is doing work within just a predefined house. What will make it even more difficult is when that predefined area is solid in concrete from the hand of an legendary architect. “Because Gisel’s structure was so special, I could not just go in with the elements I really like doing work with silk, velvet. I experienced to conjure what the room permitted me to use.” This meant Geyer applied a palate of blues, grays, whites. “I used metallic, but then contrasted it with tough textures this sort of as materials, stones. It was a obstacle to not use the materials I generally gravitate in the direction of, but what a worthwhile experience it proved to be.”
Though the finish consequence was 1 the designer and homeowners arrived to really like, receiving to that position was a logistical nightmare. “It was my initial undertaking in Switzerland,” Geyer clarifies, “and I did not know the hoops I would have to leap as a result of in declaring each and every very little issue that I introduced in from distinctive areas of the world.” The interior designer is now functioning on other numerous much more residences all over Switzerland, and has vowed to not make the similar administrative problems.
But for Geyer, the headaches built the conclusion benefits all the extra significant. “My beloved part of the dwelling begins and ends with the kitchen area,” she suggests with a smile. “I like the curtains, mainly because it brings these a textured splash of shade to the home. I had to be calculated with these times, to not cannibalize the artwork on the partitions. But actually, for me it’s definitely the inexperienced table that anchors the space.” Geyer built the table, alongside with an assortment of other parts of household furniture during the house. “The actuality that I was equipped to convey my have styles into the household produced it all the extra significant.”
The clientele are critical artwork collectors with two children operating all around a recipe, some might muse, for disaster. “The house owners are pretty down-to-earth and have a good feeling of humor,” Geyer suggests. “They have a great deal of stunning art on their walls, but they want to dwell in a household, not a museum. I necessarily mean, glance, their philosophy is: Really do not stop your lifetime due to the fact you have youngsters. They have white carpet in their residence. If that does not sum up how comfortable they are with children working all-around, I really do not know what will.”
