Hasenberg Lodge: Modernist Magic Above the Walensee
1970s chalet-esque private hire | high Swiss poise | pure architectural soul
Type: self catering design apartment(s)
Style: art, retro
Vibe: lake & mountainside retreat, quiet
A Sentinel Above Lake Walensee
A sentinel of style, standing in quiet poise above the bluebird shimmer of Lake Walensee, Walenstadt and Switzerland’s famous seven peaks of Churfirsten, Hasenberg Lodge is a crisp 1970s chalet-esque pied-à-terre, a private-hire house of personality and warmth for serious design aesthetes. The coordinates of this perched refugio are aptly just an hour from Zurich, an hour’s drive south of Bregenz in Austria and a twenty-minute jolt across the border to Liechtenstein. The restoration and playful interiors were curated by the owning architect couple, Michelle Corrodi and Roger Zogg; collectors, playful imaginarios and nature lovers.
A Modernist Chalet, Reimagined with Integrity
This precise architecture listens to light, sight and the unfolding landscape. Originally designed in 1971 by a Zurich architect who also happened to be the publisher of Werk, Bauen + Wohnen, Switzerland’s most respected architecture journal, the house is a modern interpretation of the classic alpine chalet. Reimagined in 2020, its revival focused as much on spirit as on sustainability. With renewed façade and roof insulation, new windows and discreet solar panels crowning the roofline, the energy performance has improved by some 80 per cent. Inside, too, hardly anything has been changed except for a room consolidation: proof that well-thought-out design can age with dignity and develop in a purposeful way.
Two Apartments, One Gesamtkunstwerk
Inside, two self-contained apartments, Gipfelglück (Summit Joy) and Basislager (Base Camp), can be booked individually or joined as a single architectural whole. This is no nostalgic chalet, but a soulful sojourn of curated comfort attuned to the landscapes that unfold between a canopy of fleeced clouds, thick forested wilderness and glacial waters. A true ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ – a total work of art where architecture, nature and spirit form one complete whole.
Collected Design, Composed with Care
Every piece of furniture and most of the décor has been hunted down at auction and gathered from across Switzerland. “We loved the idea of recycling and giving things a new life,” says Michelle. The interiors follow a carefully orchestrated mid-century colour concept, individual walls treated as its own canvas, and in the ‘Gipfelglück’ kitchen, even the ceiling joins the composition. Centrefold-worthy interiors dance to a tone where art and design become part of the view. While the Bulthaup b2 kitchen in the apartment ‘Base Camp’ feels integral to the architecture, pure function rendered aesthetics.
Light, Perspective, and Shifting Moods
Light and perspective play tricks here. Depending on where you sit or which curtain is drawn, the rooms shift in mood and hue, also a quiet nod to De Stijl’s fascination with geometry and balance. Each apartment is its own composition too: ‘Base Camp’ opens to a private garden, while ‘Summit Joy’ stretches out to a broad sun terrace, partly covered and complete with a fishpond.
Garden Geometry and Crafted Details
Guests and hosts share the swimming pool, framed by gardens that bloom in tamed, organic geometry; a soft counterpoint to the building’s clean architectural lines. The landscape was shaped by a celebrated garden designer and late friend of the couple, whose hand can still be felt in every curve and petal. One of the bathrooms features geometric patterns combined with glossy black vehicle-grade plywood for the built-in structures, one wall covering, and even the ceiling – which creates a beautiful play of light reflections above., while the other celebrates the original 1970s tiles left in place as a nod to the house’s origins.
Walensee Drama, Year-Round Adventure
Picturesque hardly sums it up. Hasenberg Lodge sits within a fjord-like landscape that could make you feel you are in Lago Maggiore or standing admiring Japanese ink drawings, where the lake and especially the mountains appear like different layers. Doorstep nature and adventures flanked by the Churfirsten and Flumserberg ranges, with Lake Walensee stretched between the cantons of St. Gallen and Glarus, this is Switzerland at its most composed. Yet it is not just a picture. The forests and slopes sustain a thriving mix of farming, forestry, hunting and outdoor adventures.
Days in Rhythm with the Elements
Days fall into rhythm with the elements. Pop down to the pool for a swim, head to the lake to sail or paddleboard. Hike the ridge right behind the house. Autumn brings deer calls and mushrooms (Roger knows the best spots); winter, snow and silence. Flumserberg, on the opposite side of the valley, is a huge Alpine playground, made for hikers, runners and skiers. The Churfirsten Range defines the skyline, seven limestone peaks rising sheer above the water like a sketch in stone. Only an hour from Zurich yet a world apart, this is a region of raw nature and clean design values: exactly the kind of Switzerland that makes sense to architects and design lovers.
Two Minds, One Vision
What truly defines this story is the couple’s architectural DNA. Michelle, a graduate of ETH Zurich with a background in research, approaches space through theory and cultural history. She has written a book about living with daylight. Roger, meanwhile, learned the craft from the ground up, first as a structural draughtsman before completing his technical studies at night. He brings an intuitive mastery of construction, costs and realisation, paired with a natural gift for form and furnishing. The Lodge, both architecture and interior, is the result of their shared vision and the kind of creative friction that sparks invention. Theory met practice; intellect met instinct. The outcome is a home that feels quietly resolved, beautifully functional, and profoundly human.
DNA Hotels Verdict
At Hasenberg Lodge, the architecture IS the luxury. A cultured, self-catering refuge where modernist clarity meets alpine drama, and where every line, object, and beam is tuned to light, landscape, and a profoundly human sense of home.
Amenities:
• garden • on-site parking (free) • pet friendly (no charges) • room with a view • swimming pool
