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Piers Taylor and Caroline Quentin travel to Switzerland, where architecture is influenced by neighbouring European countries and dramatic landscapes.

Maison Aux Jeurs is built in the shadow of Mont Blanc, 1,300 metres up in the Alps. It is a modern take on a Swiss Chalet - clad in black larch, raised off the ground and split down the middle to create a dramatic v-shaped house. The interior walls are warm honeyed pine and the views are astonishing. To build this high in the mountains the architects had to prebuild the house in 40 separate pieces and fly them up by helicopter to be assembled like a giant puzzle.

The second home is on the western shore of Lake Maggiore, a region known for its warm climate and Italian influences. Piers and Caroline cycle into the hills to find House in Brissago. Owner Reto Rietmann wanted a concrete house built on a steep hill and his architects delivered a striking home that looks like a stone monolith. The heart of the building is a two-storey courtyard with trees and water. Windows provide massive views and a swimming pool and outdoor kitchen 'float' hundreds of feet over the lake.

House number three lies just outside Zurich. Owners Stefan and Anna couldn't afford a home by the lake, so they bought an odd-shaped, neglected plot sandwiched between a road and a railway line. Architect Stefan designed Flex House, a remarkable s-shaped building with wide walls of glass, ribbon-like curves of concrete and slender steel columns. Looking nothing like its neighbours, 'It's total anarchy for Switzerland', says Piers.

The final property, Villa Am See, overlooks Lake Lucerne. Owner Adi, a Porsche obsessive, built his home around an underground garage for his 6 vintage cars. The house comprises three futuristic glass fronted concrete boxes positioned for optimum views. It's an extraordinary man-cave cut into rock with giant rooms, a fitness zone, a cinema and a pool cantilevered over the hillside.