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Switzerland

The World's Most Extraordinary Homes Series 2
Episode 2 of 8

Piers Taylor and Caroline Quentin travel to Switzerland. They start their journey in a tiny hamlet called Jeurs, where they visit a contemporary take on a Swiss chalet.

Piers Taylor and Caroline Quentin travel to Switzerland, where architecture is influenced by neighbouring European countries and dramatic landscapes.

Maison Aux Jeurs is built in the shadow of Mont Blanc, 1,300 metres up in the Alps. It is a modern take on a Swiss Chalet - clad in black larch, raised off the ground and split down the middle to create a dramatic v-shaped house. The interior walls are warm honeyed pine and the views are astonishing. To build this high in the mountains the architects had to prebuild the house in 40 separate pieces and fly them up by helicopter to be assembled like a giant puzzle.

The second home is on the western shore of Lake Maggiore, a region known for its warm climate and Italian influences. Piers and Caroline cycle into the hills to find House in Brissago. Owner Reto Rietmann wanted a concrete house built on a steep hill and his architects delivered a striking home that looks like a stone monolith. The heart of the building is a two-storey courtyard with trees and water. Windows provide massive views and a swimming pool and outdoor kitchen 'float' hundreds of feet over the lake.

House number three lies just outside Zurich. Owners Stefan and Anna couldn't afford a home by the lake, so they bought an odd-shaped, neglected plot sandwiched between a road and a railway line. Architect Stefan designed Flex House, a remarkable s-shaped building with wide walls of glass, ribbon-like curves of concrete and slender steel columns. Looking nothing like its neighbours, 'It's total anarchy for Switzerland', says Piers.

The final property, Villa Am See, overlooks Lake Lucerne. Owner Adi, a Porsche obsessive, built his home around an underground garage for his 6 vintage cars. The house comprises three futuristic glass fronted concrete boxes positioned for optimum views. It's an extraordinary man-cave cut into rock with giant rooms, a fitness zone, a cinema and a pool cantilevered over the hillside.

59 minutes

Last on

Tue 21 Mar 2023 16:15
BBC Two

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Clip

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:05

    Ben Howard

    Conrad

  • 00:06

    David Holmes

    Hey Maggy

  • 00:17

    Booker T. & the MG’s

    Green Onions

  • 00:18

    Zak Abel

    Unstable

  • 00:18

    Booker T. & the MG’s

    Green Onions (feat. Steve Cropper)

  • 00:18

    Zak Abel

    Unstable

  • 00:19

    Queen

    Bicycle Race

  • 00:19

    Tom Walker

    Just You & I

  • 00:20

    Tom Walker

    Just You & I

  • 00:23

    David Holmes

    Car Showroom

  • 00:30

    David Gray

    Sail Away

  • 00:31

    Willie Nelson

    On The Road Again

  • 00:33

    Malvina Reynolds

    Little Boxes

  • 00:33

    Blondie

    Heart Of Glass

  • 00:35

    Little Comets

    Jennifer

  • 00:38

    George Ezra

    Barcelona

  • 00:43

    Focus

    Hocus Pocus

  • 00:44

    Focus, Bert Ruiter

    Hocus Pocus

  • 00:44

    Barry White

    Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up

  • 00:46

    Iggy Pop

    The Passenger

  • 00:47

    Iggy Pop

    The Passenger

  • 00:48

    The Mighty Mocambos

    A Brighter Darkness

  • 00:57

    Eurythmics

    Sweet Dreams

Credits

Presenter Caroline Quentin
Presenter Piers Taylor
Production Company Wall to Wall Media
Series Producer Simon Davies
Director Emma Webster

Broadcasts

  • Wed 7 Mar 2018 20:00
    BBC Two
  • Sun 11 Mar 2018 16:00
    BBC Two Scotland
  • Sun 11 Mar 2018 17:10
    BBC Two except Scotland & Wales
  • Tue 13 Mar 2018 23:15
    BBC Two except Northern Ireland & Wales
  • Thu 22 Mar 2018 01:45
    BBC Two
  • Sat 11 Jan 2020 16:30
    BBC Two except Scotland & BBC Scotland
  • Tue 21 Mar 2023 16:15
    BBC Two except Scotland