A black skin of commercially available, slatefinish bitumen sheeting is stretched across this two-storey single-family house in a suburb to the south of Basel. Thanks to the sandpaper-like surface with glittering welded seams made of bitumen compound this house stands out clearly in its heterogeneous surroundings. Only the overlapping joints of the carefully laid, one-metre-wide lengths of membrane articulate the closed parts of the façade. Rounded corners and transitions allow the external surfaces to be wrapped completely. No differentiation is made between roof and wall.

This gives the building, which is only 5.30 metres wide, a certain visual massiveness that forms a surprising contrast to the construction: the house is a timber frame building clad with OSB panels. This lightness, on the other hand, goes well with the technical feel conveyed by the drop-arm awnings, which are also black. They conceal horizontal slits below the roof edge – effective back ventilation of the facade is particularly important on account of the vapour-tight skin.