At the foot of Switzerland’s Jura Mountains, the Jan Michalski Foundation assembles an unusual small neighborhood for writers and translators arriving for residencies lasting from two weeks to three months. The creatives are given a place not only to work but to temporarily call home. Suspended beneath the Foundation’s vast openwork canopy, nine cabins designed by atelier bonnet architectes, Jean-Gilles Décosterd, Andreas Fuhrimann Gabrielle Hächler Architekten, ELEMENTAL, Mangeat-Wahlen, Studio MK27, Rintala Eggertsson Architects, Schaub Zwicky Architekten, and Kengo Kuma & Associates offer distinct interpretations of how a person should live while dedicating their days to writing.
atelier bonnet architectes’ two-level cabin at the Jan Michalski Foundation | image by Leo Fabrizio
inside the jan michalski foundation’s village of cabins
Located in Montricher, around 30 minutes from Lausanne, the Foundation hosts around forty emerging and established authors each year, working across languages and literary forms. Its residency program is open primarily to writers and translators, though collaborative projects involving other disciplines can also be considered when literature remains at their center. Residents are given time away from their usual routines, along with an independent cabin, access to the Foundation’s library, and the surrounding Swiss landscape.
The cabins form part of the larger architectural complex designed by Vincent Mangeat and Pierre Wahlen. The Foundation invited different architects to design individual structures, shaping a collection of compact dwellings that vary considerably in form, material and internal organization while sharing the same elevated setting beneath the canopy. Six of the residences look towards Lake Geneva and the Alps, while another faces the forested slopes of the Jura. Together, they create what the Foundation describes as a small experimental town, where temporary residents inhabit individual spaces while remaining part of a wider cultural community.
wrapped in a steel and glass web | image by Leo Fabrizio
nine different approaches to living and writing
Among the cabins, atelier bonnet architectes designed a restrained white volume built over two levels and wrapped in a steel and glass web. Domestic functions occupy the lower floor, with the kitchen, dining area and bathroom positioned below a bedroom and study overlooking Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva. Light oak panels cover the interior, while an opening above the bed reveals the canopy suspended overhead. Jean-Gilles Décosterd’s cabin also separates its program vertically, placing the kitchen, dining area and workspace on one level and the bedroom and bathroom above. A staircase passes through a latticework panel dividing the interior, allowing the resident to see without being easily seen. On the exterior, white galvanised steel panels conceal openings and carry a line from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden translated into Morse code, introducing a literary reference directly into the architecture.
For Andreas Fuhrimann and Gabrielle Hächler, wood provides the starting point. Their cabin is constructed in Accoya on the exterior and pine inside, with a balcony extending from the lower floor towards the Alps and Lake Geneva. A staggered stair leads to an upper level containing an office and sitting area, while prefabricated timber panels and folding shutters give the compact structure a precise and relatively understated character.
Mangeat-Wahlen, meanwhile, approached the cabin as an architectural proposition about the relationship between daily life and intellectual work. The structure is divided into two parts by an open-air passageway imagined as a pause between two different demands. One side accommodates eating and washing, while the other is dedicated to writing, with two workspaces facing different directions. The architects compare the project to Le Corbusier’s Le Cabanon, reducing the dwelling to a minimum while considering the particular needs of its inhabitant.
interior view of atelier bonnet architectes’ writer’s cabin | photo by Tonatiuh Ambrosetti
from nested rooms to a vertical watchtower
Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan and Studio MK27 designed what they describe as a box within a box. A central cube contains the kitchen, bathroom and storage, while the surrounding volume accommodates the rest of the living space. Positioned at the edge of the canopy, the cabin marks one end of the residential sequence with a simple structure defined by slim vertical lines and a large glazed facade.
Rintala Eggertsson Architects took a different approach, arranging their cabin across four half-levels organized around a central stair. Each level accommodates a distinct function, progressing from the entrance and bathroom to the kitchenette and dining area, then a resting space and balcony, before reaching an office at the highest point. Built in Accoya wood, the largest cabin on the site overlooks the library forecourt and surrounding landscape, taking on the character of a small watchtower within the settlement.
Barbara Schaub and Regula Zwicky designed the cabin intended for residents with reduced mobility. Positioned at the end of the row facing the village of Montricher, the single-level residence is accessed by a slatted metal ramp and contains no internal steps. Its compact plan prioritizes straightforward movement while two large windows frame views towards the Alps and the village. Clad in durable Accoya panels, the cabin is closely positioned beside another residence, although its interior arrangement maintains a sense of independence.
Jean-Gilles Décosterd’s writer’s cabin | image by Leo Fabrizio
the collection of retreats forms a neighborhood
ELEMENTAL shaped a larger communal space where residents and Foundation staff can gather, cook and share meals. The cabin, developed by Alejandro Aravena’s practice with Swiss firm +2 Architectes, is organized as a sequence of three spaces: a kitchen centered around a large island, a dining room and a sitting area that can be separated by sliding doors. A concrete slab and Corten steel beam support the structure, while timber, glass and granite define its interior. The communal cabin gives the residential program another layer. The writers can withdraw into their own dwellings to work, but they are not entirely isolated. Cooking, eating and conversation become part of the wider rhythm of the Foundation, alongside access to its library and cultural activities.
Kengo Kuma & Associates later added another interpretation of temporary habitation to the site. Completed between 2018 and 2019, Kuma’s cabin was originally conceived as a larger house for a caretaker and is now used for dual or trio residencies. Its irregular form is generated from triangular polygons and clad in painted steel scattered with wooden shingles, reworking a familiar construction technique through a contemporary facade. Inside, stained oak panels line an office, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, while an open-plan kitchen and living-dining area opens towards a floating balcony. Unlike the more compact cabins designed around a single resident, Kuma’s structure considers the possibility of inhabiting the Foundation together.
steel panels carry a line from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden | image by Tonatiuh Ambrosetti
a temporary way of inhabiting
Taken together, the nine cabins offer different approaches to creating a place where a writer can live and work for a limited period of time. Some separate writing from everyday routines, while others stack functions across several levels or organize them around a central volume. Timber, steel and glass recur throughout the project, and the surrounding landscape enters each cabin in different ways, through balconies and large windows.
Despite their differences, the cabins operate as part of the same residency program beneath the Foundation’s canopy. For two weeks or several months, they become temporary homes and workplaces for writers arriving in Montricher from around the world.
The cabins form a small architectural collection shaped by different ideas about space, privacy and daily life. Each offers its own setting for writing, while the wider Foundation provides the shared spaces and cultural programs that connect its residents.
introducing a literary reference directly into the architecture | image by Leo Fabrizio
ELEMENTAL’s communal cabin at the Jan Michalski Foundation | image by Leo Fabrizio
a concrete slab and Corten steel beam support the structure | image by Leo Fabrizio
a communal space where residents can gather, cook and share meals | image by Leo Fabrizio
Andreas Fuhrimann Gabrielle Hächler Architekten’s timber cabin | photo by Leo Fabrizio
wood provides the starting point | image by Leo Fabrizio
the cabin is constructed in Accoya on the exterior and pine inside | image by Leo Fabrizio
exterior view of Studio MK27’s writer’s cabin | image by Leo Fabrizio
a box within a box | image by Leo Fabrizio
Rintala Eggertsson Architects’ cabin | image by Tonatiuh Ambrosetti
interior of Rintala Eggertsson Architects’ writer’s cabin | image by Tonatiuh Ambrosetti
Schaub Zwicky Architekten’s accessible writer’s cabin at the Jan Michalski Foundation | image by Leo Fabrizio
Schaub Zwicky Architekten’s cabin interior | image by Tonatiuh Ambrosetti
Kengo Kuma & Associates’ cabin | photo by Leo Fabrizio
completed between 2018 and 2019 | image by Tonatiuh Ambrosetti
its irregular form is generated from triangular polygons | image by Leo Fabrizio
project info:
name: Jan Michalski Foundation Writer Residences
location: Montricher, Switzerland
architects: atelier bonnet architectes | @atelierbonnetarchitectes, Jean-Gilles Décosterd, Andreas Fuhrimann Gabrielle Hächler Architekten | @andreasfuhrimann, ELEMENTAL | @elementalchile, Mangeat-Wahlen | @mwarchitectes, Studio MK27 | @studioMK27, Rintala Eggertsson Architects | @rintalaeggertsson, Schaub Zwicky Architekten | @schaubzwicky, Kengo Kuma & Associates | @kkaa_official
foundation: Jan Michalski Foundation | @fondation_janmichalski
This article is part of designboom’s MODES OF HABITATION chapter, exploring how the spaces we inhabit can reshape the ways we live together. Discover more stories rethinking domesticity, shared living, and the many forms a home can take here.
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