Terraforming

VOLTOLINI architectures as Architects

The chronicle of a disappearance

Located at the foot of the Alps of the Valais, the house is staged as an artefact in nature, the sign of an installation in a territory. It plays an active part in the landscape by initiating a dialogue with its
environment and thus becomes an element of the site.A primitive icon of a home, it looks as if it had been folded and shaped under the pressure of the surrounding geology. Its volumes have been cut
according to the main directions of the mountains. It is therefore the local geology which shapes the edifice. It is perceived differently according to time and seasons. The skin of its envelope, a shell of
standard elements of roofing, reacts to the climate. The structure of its materials is revealed in alternating rhythms, its colour changes with the intensity of light, as well as with differences in humidity and temperature… It owes its presence to what is not seen in matter and makes it a vibration in the landscape, a mere shadow cast on the mountains of what exists.
The edifice records the flight of time and acquires fragility by getting rid of its material weight. The fact it disappears from sight questions its perenniality. The terracing of the slope of the land has permitted
to deposit the edifice as lightly as possible and also to determine three levels, one for each function. They follow the natural slope of the ground, generating spaces which are oriented towards the
plain, and determining the section-drawing. As the basis of the scenography is given by the landscape, it is the natural play of light which draws the volumes and stretches them towards the sky. Each
window perforates the edifice and is an event in itself. The openings are determined by identified perspectives which impose them and govern the plan. Obeying the landscape, blurring the limits of perception, refusing the grandiloquence of the neighbouring constructions, such was the
logic of this “disappearance”. So that the architecture should permit to forget the architect and fill with history.

Project Spotlight
Product Spotlight
News
Fernanda Canales designs tranquil “House for the Elderly” in Sonora, Mexico
12 Dec 2024 News
Fernanda Canales designs tranquil “House for the Elderly” in Sonora, Mexico

Mexican architecture studio Fernanda Canales has designed a semi-open, circular community center for... More

Australia’s first solar-powered façade completed in Melbourne
12 Dec 2024 News
Australia’s first solar-powered façade completed in Melbourne

Located in Melbourne, 550 Spencer is the first building in Australia to generate its own electricity... More

SPPARC completes restoration of former Victorian-era Army & Navy Cooperative Society warehouse
11 Dec 2024 News
SPPARC completes restoration of former Victorian-era Army & Navy Cooperative Society warehouse

In the heart of Westminster, London, the London-based architectural studio SPPARC has restored and r... More

Green patination on Kyoto coffee stand is brought about using soy sauce and chemicals
10 Dec 2024 News
Green patination on Kyoto coffee stand is brought about using soy sauce and chemicals

Ryohei Tanaka of Japanese architectural firm G Architects Studio designed a bijou coffee stand in Ky... More

New building in Montreal by MU Architecture tells a tale of two facades
10 Dec 2024 News
New building in Montreal by MU Architecture tells a tale of two facades

In Montreal, Quebec, Le Petit Laurent is a newly constructed residential and commercial building tha... More

RAMSA completes Georgetown University's McCourt School of Policy, featuring unique installations by Maya Lin
10 Dec 2024 News
RAMSA completes Georgetown University's McCourt School of Policy, featuring unique installations by Maya Lin

Located on Georgetown University's downtown Capital Campus, the McCourt School of Policy by Robert A... More

MVRDV-designed clubhouse in shipping container supports refugees through the power of sport
9 Dec 2024 News
MVRDV-designed clubhouse in shipping container supports refugees through the power of sport

MVRDV has designed a modular and multi-functional sports club in a shipping container for Amsterdam-... More

Archello Awards 2025 expands with 'Unbuilt' awards categories
9 Dec 2024 Archello Awards
Archello Awards 2025 expands with 'Unbuilt' project awards categories

Archello is excited to introduce a new set of twelve 'Unbuilt' project awards for the Archello Award... More