Villa for sale - 4114 Hofstetten SO

Opportunity for architecture and design enthusiasts

Hofstetten-Flüh SO: USM Haller villa with south-facing panoramic view

On the bucket list 1972: Paris – New York with the Concorde. An original work by Barnett Newman on the wall. The YSL Safari summer collection in the closet. And a USM Haller villa as a family home.

System, but cool

The USM Haller house of the 60s and 70s was the highest stage of evolution – the Rolls Royce – of system architecture. These villas and commercial buildings continue to inspire as a consistent synthesis of aesthetics and function. The most beautiful product ever to come out of Swiss factories? Certainly one of the most precise and elegant. The manufacturing tolerances of the individual parts were extremely small. It is regrettable that USM now only manufactures furniture systems. Functional and beautiful, however.

Modular, harmonious, radically modern, intelligent, light

This magnificent example of a USM Haller villa creates space through two rectangular plates that form the roof and floor of the main floor. Thanks to full glazing and verandas, the outdoor space flows into the indoor space. The cubic building body gently rests on the terrain: The topography remains intact. Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House comes to mind. Also typical is the axially symmetrical concept with a centrally located access tract to the upper floor: One enjoys the airspace in the middle of the living area.

The Haus Bianchi: system-inherent joie de vivre with panoramic view

The windows of the adapted system house frame wide landscape images of fields and wooded hills to the horizon. Hofstetten is a single-family home island in the agricultural zone (all residents should have used Fritz Haller's construction kit). The then builder, an innovative scientist, professor and entrepreneur, chose a high standard: veined, light marble slabs on the floors, free-standing architect's fireplace in metal. The indoor pool forms the wellness zone on the ground floor with garden access. Today the pool is covered. Recommendation: Repair the swimming pool when installing the heat pump/geothermal heating – and enjoy it without a guilty conscience.

Hofstetten-Flüh SO: Location with quality and privacy

The municipality of Hofstetten-Flüh is located in the Leimental, Canton Solothurn. With 3200 inhabitants, Hofstetten is attractive for families and all those who appreciate peace, natural areas and privacy thanks to the nearby recreation area and good infrastructure.

Well connected: Hofstetten benefits from its proximity to Basel and is well served by tram line 10 and bus line 68. By car, Olten and Aarau can be reached in less than an hour, Zurich in a little over an hour.

Making Haus Bianchi fit for today's demands – short analysis

Before moving in, restorative measures as well as the conversion to sustainable energy generation must be taken.

What the USM specialist says

The house was built in 1972 by architect K. Nussbaumer in the USM Haller construction system, under license from Haller. Christian Müller, who worked for 16 years as an architect for Fritz Haller, inspected the Haus Bianchi in October 2023: It is a very beautiful, spacious building with a large floor plan and skylight – a typical USM Haller house, a single-family house in the Mini type steel construction system. It is largely in its original condition.

The substance is intact, but requires some maintenance. In terms of building physics, it does not meet today's standards. The glass panes are well preserved. The oil central heating, heat distribution via floor-recessed radiators, still allows comfortable temperatures in winter. However, it is recommended to convert to an air-water heat pump with a geothermal probe while retaining the invisible low-floor radiators.

On the ground floor, converting to underfloor heating makes sense. The roof is tight, only the roof seal is no longer original. In a future roof renovation, the original trim should be replaced for the sake of originality, and the roof could also be re-insulated. Special to this building is the 1.5-meter projecting canopy, which offers good corrosion protection. The free-standing supports outside the house are also rare in the modular USM system.

Condition expertise on request

On request, Poeticwalls organizes a condition expertise with report. The architectural firm Vuotovolume in Bern has extensive experience in the renovation of USM Haller villas and offers the expertise for CHF 2,500.