The SCH House is a modernist home in the mountains of Jerusalem. A villa on three levels – floating stone above a glass box, a roof pool overlooking the Jerusalem hills. Winner of the International Property Award for Best Private Residence in Israel, 2024. First in Europe for design portfolio.
The site was steep and terraced, with extraordinary views and an equally demanding set of constraints: local planning regulations, a requirement to build in Jerusalem stone, a program that needed to work as both a family home and a gathering place for extended family.
The design
The answer was to use the slope rather than fight it. Three staggered volumes step down the hillside. Each has its own relationship to the landscape. Public spaces open fully to the view. Private areas are sheltered and quiet.
The pool sits at the lowest terrace. Stone walls are load-bearing and expressive at the same time. The interior is warm and spare – materials that don’t need to explain themselves.
The credit belongs partly to the brief. The clients knew what they wanted to build and trusted the process. When that alignment is there, the building shows it.
The SCH House is not a difficult building to understand. The logic is visible. What it took to get there is less visible — and that is usually how it should be.
Ollech+Tol is an architecture, landscape and design studio working across Israel and internationally — from design through permitting and construction management.