ONE WITH THE NATURE
Domenico Benetti and Massimo Grigolo’s range of projects covers a broad field, from residential buildings, through luxurious commercial projects, to public facilities, including tourism infrastructure.
Thanks to their project for Asiago Golf Club they have met their future clients, for whom they designed in 2015 a weekend house.
The client wished a place where all of his family could spend time together. He fell in love with the nature surrounding the site and the vast views over entire Val d’Assa and decided to build his holiday nest there. As the circle of relatives and friends is large, the place is hardly ever empty, be it during the holidays, weekends and in–between.
The architects mastered the challenge, creating a building, which, despite its large dimensions, seamlessly blends into nature. The surrounding infrastructure, such as a garage, is integrated into the slope and so not perceived as a separate volume. There are also as little as possible paved surfaces on the site.
Site plan.
The main entrance to the site is from the north, A gravel road leads down to the back courtyard between the garage and the house. A wooden deck forms a path down the hill, towards the views and the sitting platform.
The openings lightening up the underground floor are covered with milk glass plates, reminding more of frozen water than actual windows.
“Our focus was to find the right relationship between the building and the nature, as well as on translating the typologies found in local architecture to a modern language. We have studied volumes of the houses, different kinds of wood panelling as well as the presence and beauty of natural, raw materials.” - Domenico Benetti, architect at Benetti Grigolo Architetti
NEW WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING TRADITION
The architects' extensive research on reinterpreting traditional architecture resulted in a rectangular volume with a sloped roof, clad in raw larch boards and stripped of unnecessary retro–decorations. The interior did not follow the traditional typology, as the desired room sizes and the relation to the outside in a modern holiday house has changed since the old days. The need for protection against the weather conditions only belongs to the past. The clients' wish for living in the landscape – and in the sun – reflects the contemporary attitude towards nature.
“Daylight is essential, when it comes to bringing life to interior or creating hierarchies between the rooms. Daylight enables seeing the beauty of wood, stone or any other material used.” - Domenico Benetti, architect at Benetti Grigolo Architetti
The wood is omnipresent in the project, in all forms: outside raw and bleached by the sun, inside naturally honey-coloured, contrasted by concrete grey walls of the bathrooms and large glazings, as well as the colourful, modern furniture. The house is designed around a large living area overlooking the unspoilt panorama. A large room with a glazed wall is protected from overheating thanks to a setback. The loggia extends into a terrace protruding from the volume. A fully glazed facade is protected from the direct sunshine and frames the landscape like a painting, while VELUX roof windows above a double-height area compensate the loss of light caused by introducing a deep loggia.
The double-height space allows views to and from the sleeping area above. A panoramic staircase and a row of smaller openings along the northern façade are connecting all three levels allow perceiving the space as one. Contrasting the open spaces of the day area, the six bedrooms – all with in-suite bathrooms and wardrobes – are functional and cosy. The ones on the top floor, under the sloped roof, are lit from the top. Roof windows in the bedrooms are large and located on a level which allows views towards the valley, while the bathrooms' smaller openings are positioned higher, to ensure privacy.
The view outside is orientated towards one direction – the panoramic view – while all other facades are closes to avoid visual connections to the neighbours. “Our client understood the beauty of bright zenithal light, illuminating the room from its highest point and brightening up the surface of the ceiling. He even suggested more roof windows, but there was simply not enough space." - Domenico Benetti, architect at
Benetti Grigolo Architetti
Cross section through the wooden deck, terrace and double-height space in the upper living room.While the lower outside space gives a feeling of being nested in the slope, the upper one levitates above the landscape.The light comes inside the house from all directions, connecting different areas and levels.
ONE WITH THE NATURE
The entire project is thought–through in every detail, from providing spaces for th to ecological impact. The fireplace is not only a cosy place to gather around: it also used for heating, together with a hybrid boiler powered by heat pump and gas. Photovoltaic panels on the roof support the system with its gains.
Outside walls are made out of thermal brick, with concrete and steel structure, while the well-insulated roof is covered with metal sheets. The entire house is clad in larch boards to achieve a modern, sculptural look and become one with the landscape. The terraces open to the views, while a narrow larch path leads into the meadow in front of the house, to a wooden platform underneath a cherry tree.
Underground floor.
The main volume of the house is surrounded by an additional concrete wall, forming a ditch with skylights on the northern side of the house. On the south facade the outer wall follows the landscape, and ends at the edge of a wooden deck, cut-in in the slope.
Ground floor.
The entire day area is read as one room. Double-height spaces extend up to the roof, lightening up the spaces from above.
First floor.
Wood-cladded bedrooms with en suite bathrooms are tucked in under the roof. One room connects with the living room downstairs through a layer of rotating wooden panels.
Roof view.
The roof surface on the south features a row of solar panels alternating with four large VELUX windows. Smaller windows are bringing the light into the bathrooms and double-height are along the northern facade.
