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Truly unique: Villa KuK
Second to none on Lake Zurich Photos: xxxxxxxx
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There is a residence in Rüschlikon that has no equal on Lake Zurich. With 1316 m2 of total floor space spread over five floors, it offers every imaginable luxury – including an indoor pool and a cool storage room for fur coats.
SEESICHT 3/14 www.seesichtmagazin.ch Special reprint from SEESICHT Magazine March 2014, www.seesichtmagazin.ch
Bijou
Villa KuK, Rüschlikon
The magical scent of shrub and climbing rose «Keiko», registered under the name of the proprietress of the Villa KuK at the European Patent Office.
The presented villa is for sale. Interested parties are welcome to contact the publisher of this publication: Roger Bataillard, Seesicht Media AG Bönirainstrasse 14 CH-8800 Thalwil, Switzerland Tel.+41 (44) 721 91 55 Mail: roger.bataillard@seesichtmagazin.ch Of course, while maintaining absolute discretion. 2
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The entrance hall creates an awe-inspiring first impression. Golden skylights fill the space with a soft infusion of daylight even in inclement weather and are made from the same glass as the Dôme des Invalides in Paris.
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Bijou
Villa KuK, Rüschlikon
Just like a five-star hotel: the view from the parlour on the villa’s entrance level. Huge windows and a terrace spanning the entire length of the house offer the greatest possible, unobstructed views over Lake Zurich, right into the Glarus Alps (see the panorama on pages 8/9). On the left, a replica of a rose painting by Claude Monet encases the circular staircase.
Text: Roger Bataillard Photos: Gaston Wicky, Felix Aeberli, Emanuel Ammon & Kurt Schorrer
It has taken years for the doors of Villa KuK – perched high on the
Rüschlikon hillside – to be opened to SEESICHT Magazine. We were first able to welcome the owners of this 1660 m2 estate, Keiko Bromkamp Magyar and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Kasimir M. Magyar, to the pages of SEESICHT in the 1/2007 issue, and then again in the 2/2011 issue. Both times we explored their unique, 1000 m2 garden bursting with more than 2000 rose bushes surrounding the villa of the Rosenkavalier of Rüschlikon, now also known as the Rose Whisperer. Our efforts have finally borne fruit, and we are delighted to present one of the most exclusive villas on Lake Zurich. A villa so bijou it’s hard to imagine how much more unique it could be (and it’s now up for sale, too – the Magyar’s have moved to a smaller home, still with about 600 roses in the garden). 4
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Left: Optimum use of natural light. The sun floods in from the south-east for hours to fill all the main rooms of the house, which is situated on the western shore of the lake. Right: Plenty of parking spaces. The property has three parking spaces in the garage and a further seven outside.
Luxurious villa with vast gardens Built from 2000 to 2002, the residence features 13 main rooms over five floors and 926 m2 of net living space. The spacious grounds cover 1663 m2 of an exclusive hillside location in Rüschlikon. There are two open and three covered terraces outside with a total area of 335 m2, in addition to a conservatory. The open-air garden terrace by the indoor swimming pool has a total area of 176 m2. The gardens have a parkland feel and feature a 13 m height differential and five different terraces over an area of 1000 m2.
1st level: Entrance hall, garage and parlour
2nd level: Sleeping, relaxing and eating
KuK – this stands for «Keiko und Kasimir» The couple who own the estate, Keiko Bromkamp Magyar from Japan and Kasimir M. Magyar, originally from Hungary and former chief executive of Mövenpick, professor of marketing at Rennes University, lecturer of marketing at the Sorbonne, honorary professor at Budapest University (where he also received an honorary doctorate) and a great connoisseur of roses, lived in Villa KuK for almost twelve years. They have now taken up residence in a smaller retirement property, also in Rüschlikon.
3rd level: TV lounge, conservatory and staff residence
4th level: Indoor pool, guest suite and garden terrace
North façade: Villa KuK is situated on a gentle incline rising more than 13 m.
Anyone coming into the villa through the entrance on the top floor is immediately enchanted. The exceptional, sophisticated architectural design by Giandavide Moccetti guarantees this building stands out from the rest. Only the very best materials were used in its construction. Starting with the marble (Azul Imperial from Brazil, Volakas Calacate from Greece, Estenoz Crème and Rosé from Portugal), to the columns in Naxos White from Greece and Italian Lasa Bianco, the Venetian stucco, coffered ceilings with concealed lighting and silk wall coverings, right up to some special ceilings gilded in 22-carat gold. Even the inner doors of the lift, which of course serves all five floors, are gilded. The entrance level features two large parlour rooms separated by the circular stairwell in the centre of the space, but which nevertheless feel connected through a www.seesichtmagazin.ch
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Bijou
Villa KuK, Rüschlikon
Wonderful oases of comfort and hospitality in Villa KuK. Chandeliers from Murano float above the smaller and larger dining tables. Their light is softly reflected by a ceiling gilded in 22-carat gold and diffused throughout the room. Image below right: a spacious TV lounge (the television and multimedia devices, when not in use, are cleverly concealed in the sideboard on the left). To reach the conservatory, pass the second seating area at the back of the lounge. Everywhere in abundance: elegant flower arrangements, needless to say from the rose garden belonging to the house. Keiko Bromkamp arranges some of the bouquets according to the traditional art of Ikebana.
magnificent 8.6 m panoramic painting that surrounds the stairwell (image at top left). It’s an imitation Monet, by wellknown French painter Denis Gerablie. A small cellar ensures the parlours are well stocked for the utmost in gastronomic experience. One floor down among other rooms is the dining room, «a place of exceptional comfort and hospitality», as the man of the house likes to point out. The space has been skilfully divided into an area with a smaller table for more intimate get-togethers (image at very top right) and a larger space with a table for festive occasions. This offers plenty of space for up to twelve people (image at bottom left). A delectable anecdote is attached to this: when the time came to craft 6
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chairs to accompany the table made from 150-year-old Cuban teak, the Magyar’s learned that this type of wood is not available in Switzerland. Marketing professor Magyar lost no time in writing a letter to Fidel Castro to ask after his teak. He didn’t have to wait long for an answer, as Castro was all set to send a railway carriage full of this wood to Switzerland – far too much for just twelve chairs. Following extensive correspondence, they agreed on a quarter of a railway carriage. The chairs were then made to measure by an Italian ébéniste and they match the table perfectly – all thanks to Fidel! The ensemble has doubtless encountered many a wonderful festive occasion in Villa KuK, where hospitality is considered a sign of high appreciation – coming from the man of the
Above: the Gold Room is furnished with rarities from various eras and gleams under a ceiling of 22-carat gold. Below: instead of gold, the bathroom is clad all in white. The marble is accompanied by just a few golden fittings.
30 cabinets and a cool storage room for fur coats The Master Suite, with a bedroom, a relaxation room and vast dressing room featuring a labyrinth of mirrored cabinets, is second to none. The ultimate space for the style-conscious, it has 30 cabinets – all mirrored – and a cool storage room for fur coats that can be selected from a revolving clothes rack.
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Bijou
Villa KuK, Rüschlikon
The indoor pool on the lowest, ground-level floor of Villa KuK easily rivals many an indoor hotel pool. This space also features floor-to-ceiling windows to provide sweeping views of the gardens and Lake Zurich.
18 km of unobstructable lake views. Starting on the left at Zurich Bellevue and stretching from Zollikon via Küsnacht and Herrliberg all the way to Meilen. The mountains of Central Switzerland are easy to see when the weather is fine, particularly when the warm föhn wind is blowing.
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house, a charming Hungarian expatriate who arrived in Switzerland back in 1956, this sentiment is surely genuine. The magnificent indoor pool, sauna and steam bath on the villa’s ground floor are often sought out for some exercise to work off many an exquisite meal. In the indoor pool, attention is drawn to the wall-mounted, large-format screen that can be viewed and controlled from every corner of the pool – something we have never seen before. On the same floor as the wellness area, we also find a luxurious guest suite covering 70 m2. We’ve now visited almost all five floors of Villa KuK. There only remains the basement floor – which has a surprise in store for us: Alongside utility rooms for the pool and house,
Cook like a professional When dining culture is so outstanding, there’s no skimping on the kitchen. The spacious kitchen of Villa KuK is decorated mainly in black and white and, though perfect for preparing smaller meals, it’s also large enough to prepare elaborate dinners for discerning guests. All the hobs and surfaces as well as the cold store are generously proportioned. Equipped to restaurant standards and featuring a large central island, this kitchen allows both house residents and personal chefs to feel at ease.
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Bijou
Villa KuK, Rüschlikon
Above: well-equipped wine cellar «Galerie des Crus» with three wine altars, display lighting, mirrored ceiling and its own air-conditioning. Below: the entrance area is described by the Asian lady of the house as follows: «One elephant welcomes guests with loud trumpeting, while the other already mourns their unavoidable departure.»
Making-of
there is a fully air-conditioned wine cellar with three veritable wine altars crafted from ancient bricks. Christened Galerie des Crus, the wine cellar houses some of our host’s highly exclusive tipples, something he knows much about (as chief executive, Kasimir Magyar was globally responsible for Mövenpick wines). A wonderful sight and a fitting conclusion to our exclusive tour through one of the most remarkable properties on Lake Zurich. A residence that is second to none – a bijou villa simply in a class of its own.
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Join us for a tour of the house As with many other articles in SEESICHT magazine, the presentation of this bijou residence includes this printed piece along with an array of little multimedia treats. Visit our website to view more images from our photographers which we didn’t have the space to print, along with a range of videos, making-of clips and, as a very special feature, some exclusive 360-degree panoramic images. These provide a virtual visit to individual rooms and allow you to zoom in on the details, giving you your very own tour of the house. These new panoramic views show properties from a completely different perspective – discover them here: www.seesichtmagazin.ch/galerie
http://seesichtmagazin.ch.mobweb.ch/panoramas/bijou-05-2014/
Interactive tour of the house – from the parlour to the cellar Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, or your fingertip on a tablet, you can change your perspective horizontally and vertically – in other words, all the way round and from top to bottom! You can also zoom in on the details to examine everything at leisure.
More images, panoramic views as well as videos of this bijou villa are available online and on your iPad. Visit our gallery of images and videos at www.seesichtmagazin.ch/galerie. The SEESICHT Galerie with numerous unpublished images is available from the App Store.
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Special reprint from SEESICHT Magazine March 2014, www.seesichtmagazin.ch
Published by SEESICHT Media AG Bönirainstrasse 14, CH-8800 Thalwil, Switzerland Tel. +41 (44) 721 91 55, Fax +41 (44) 721 91 68 info@seesichtmedia.ch www.seesichtmagazin.ch