On the banks of Lake Maggiore and a site once occupied by the headquarters of the ceramic company Pozzi-Gino, this new housing project by Archea Associati references its site history and surrounding urban fabric with a concept featuring chequerboard patterns, courtyard formations, and striking volumes clad with fragmented blue-ceramic tile.
The project comprises a total of four different volumes. All the buildings differ in their volumetric arrangement with faceted and bent profiles that transform building volumes into sculptural elements.
The apartment forms create an urban ambiance of two scales, one that is expansive and open towards the lake, and the other more intimate and corresponding to the new road system which smoothly scales the hills. The façade to the lakeside is characterized by recessed balconies and expansive amounts of glazing while the rear façade is largely closed, following the intimate and domestic nature of the corresponding interior spaces.
The material continuity of the blue-glazed ceramic exterior cladding, with only recessed areas and loggias finished in a contrasting brown, results in the unified appearance of four volumes beautifully integrated into the mountain and with a surface that evokes and reflects the colour of the lake while referencing the previous history of the site.
