More often than not, the work of Swiss Modernist designer and architect Otto Kolb is eclipsed by that of his regional contemporaries, particularly Bauhaus student and architect Max Bill or Fritz Haller, the man behind the USM furniture system. The neglect is striking in light of Kolb’s prolific career and significant individual contribution to architecture, characterised by the invention of rational systems and technical designs for use in prefabricated and modular building. In contrast with his compatriots, Kolb’s flamboyant lifestyle and creative imagination enriched his output with unusual inventive concepts, manifested most obviously in his own home on the outskirts of Zurich.
Kolb’s training was influenced by strict post-Bauhaus ideas, governed by the principle of Rationalism: form following function. After an apprenticeship as a bricklayer, he studied architecture at the technical centre in Winterthur, earning his diploma in 1944. After a series of internships, he joined the office of the architect and university professor Alfred Roth in 1945. Around the same time, Kolb met important representatives of the emerging Functionalist movement, including abstract painter Richard Paul Lohse and Bill, founder of Ulm School of Design. Soon, Kolb became a familiar face in progressive avant-garde circles and among the pioneers of the Modern movement in Switzerland and beyond, frequently associating with luminaries such as Le Corbusier, Paul Klee, Walter Gropius, Johannes Itten, James Joyce, Kurt Schwitters, Jean Arp, Max Ernst and Aldo van Eyck.
Kolb began teaching technical drawing at the Zurich School of Applied Arts in his twenties, simultaneously writing articles for architecture and design magazines that were met with international recognition. In 1947, he attracted the attention of industrial designer Serge Chermayeff, then director of the Institute of Design (ID) in Chicago, who invited Kolb to teach there and later at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Kolb emigrated to the USA at the age of 27, primarily to take up the post. However, he soon became active outside the school, devising furniture, lighting and, eventually, buildings – his first commission, the Horner House in Beverly Shores, Indiana, in 1949, was later added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The early 1950s were a time of change for Kolb, both personally and professionally. Mies van der Rohe consolidated the ID and IIT and Kolb left his teaching post; he also separated from his first wife, Heidi Müller, and married Ridi Spiesman, settling on the Hudson River. He received several commissions during this time, including the celebrated Clark House in 1953. While his career was progressing, his life outside it was in flux: he divorced again and later married journalist Jane Lace. Twelve years after emigrating to America, personal circumstances compelled him to move back to his home country with Lace, and he built a house in Brüttisellen. ‘His stay in the USA was very formative,’ explains his daughter Claudia.
During the 1960s, Kolb focused on designing furniture and family homes. He also participated in architecture competitions, submitting plans for an opera in Baghdad and the city theatre in Zurich, neither of which were ever realised unfortunately. In 1965, spurred on by an interest in space-saving vertical solutions, he invented a standardised, prefabricated modular spiral staircase, which he patented. The compact structure and flexibility of form made his helicoidal staircase a bestseller, and he subsequently made a living out of marketing them.
Kolb had a prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic in the second half of the 20th century; in 1982, after accomplishing much in the USA and Switzerland, he settled in Zurich and completed his seminal work: a circular house for his family.
The building, which is currently uninhabited, remains an unaltered Gesamtkunstwerk – a pure example of Kolb’s belief in the ultimate synthesis of art, architecture and technology. The circular, open-plan interior is the last and most convincing of his designs, merging all the concepts he had experimented with throughout his career. With this house, he wanted to create an organic structure made from industrial materials; a design enriched with Japanese-inspired elements and powered by sustainable energy.
Striking the eye in the house’s main living area is a series of small ponds, as well as a pillar-like fireplace and, spiralling upwards around it, one of Kolb’s signature staircases. Rooms branch off the different levels to create the effect of an open, interconnected space. Bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the upper floor, suspended from the ceiling as alcoves or interior balconies. Claudia recalls needing a short while to adapt to this unusual space. ‘I lived here from the age of 15 to 23,’ she says. ‘In the beginning it was not so easy, as we had previously lived in a conventional house with closed rooms. I got used to the new place quickly because the advantages of this form of living outweighed the disadvantages.’
Another of Otto’s daughters, Jane, recalls the acoustics of the building being ‘superb’. ‘My father was always listening to music,’ she continues, adding that Roth and Bill were both ‘enthusiastic’ visitors during her childhood. The parties thrown at her home were legendary. ‘The entire atmosphere just made you feel good; everything was perfect.’
Kolb also designed futuristic built-in and free-standing furniture and lamps for the house. The living room and kitchen on the ground floor are separated by thin plywood partitions, creating a harmonious, continuous area with the sunken lounge surrounded by water. ‘As I am a great nature lover, I really liked the blurring of the boundaries between the inside of the building and the surrounding nature,’ says Claudia. ‘I was inside, but lived like I was outside. I loved that.’
Otto Kolb died in 1996 and his once well-maintained garden, as Jane explains, has since become overgrown. In 2012, however, the house was classified as a protected building of regional importance by the Zurich Cantonal Monument Preservation Office. ‘My mother lived in this place until her death in the spring of 2022,’ says Claudia. ‘What will happen to it is still up in the air. But one thing is clear: it will be preserved’.
A version of this article also appeared in the Febuary 2025 issue of ‘The World of Interiors’. Learn about our subscription offers. Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter, and be the first to receive exclusive stories like this one, direct to your inbox
