The plot of the house is located on the border of the village of Gorduno in Ticino and faces northwest towards the newer urban extension of the village. To the south lies the garden of the local primary school and on its west side there is an old house owned by the client.
The peculiarity of the land and the wish of the client to have as much privacy as possible for the members of the family defined the parameters of this project; firstly, a large wall facing towards north with an opening in it that frames the view of an almost uncontaminated nature and secondly the expansion of the interior spaces facing onto the new courtyard and the vertical shift of the floors in order to create a sense of spaciousness while retaining privacy.
The north facing wall assumes the character of bastion decorated by the traces of the slabs that show the section of the house.
The small size of the interior spaces find is compensated thanks their opening up towards the exterior and the continuous visual connection with the external landscape.
The exterior balconies are related to each other as well as with the interior spaces and define the “soft” part of the construction offering an additional space to live in and also express the internal function.
The excavated parts of the volume become the transitional spaces between interior and exterior and express gradually the intimacy levels: intimate, private, semi-private, public. The excavated volumes, partially covered and in part protected by translucent elements, generates a particular microclimate. Taking advantage of the seasonal position of the sun its heat is collected through dark flooring in winter while protected in summer, offering a shaded in between space.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Pino Musi- Milano, Italy Francesca Badeschi per Studio DIM associati- Firenze- Italy
