Single-family house at Melchenbühlweg 9

About the building

From the street, the house at Melchenbühlweg 9 shows almost nothing but a closed wall. The two-storey cube under a flat roof is faced on its north-east side with dark brown exposed bricks that are not laid in a bond. Fine recesses only a few centimetres deep and projections at the sides and above the entrance with its steps stress the vertical. The few small openings are screened with wooden slats.

The south-east side towards the garden is entirely different: between concrete columns it is almost fully glazed. Splayed elements of exposed concrete form the surrounding balcony parapet and the roof edge. In the same open construction, two low pergolas extend to the south-east and south-west, enclosing the garden in an angle. The old trees and a modern sculpture are included in the design.

The house was built from 1966 to 1968 to plans by the Bern architect Ulrich Stucky (1925–2003). The client was Maurice E. Müller (1918–2009), whom the building inventory lists with the place name St. Gallen. From 1960 the orthopaedic surgeon headed the orthopaedic and trauma department at the cantonal hospital in St. Gallen, became a professor at the University of Bern in 1963 and directed the university clinic for orthopaedic surgery at the Inselspital until 1980. He developed many instruments, plates and prostheses for treating fractures and for hip replacement.

The building inventory praises above all the careful details and independent architecture of the house and rates it as worth protecting. A detailed account appears in Maurer and Oechslin (2009).

From the street, look at the brickwork: the bricks are deliberately laid without a bond.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Melchenbühlweg 9 · Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Müller, Maurice Edmond · Wikidata: Ulrich Stucky (Q132198302) · Wikidata: Q139074666