Transformation of a house on the Muzzano's lake
Situation
The plot is located in a natural protected area which imposes a set of very restrictive building parameters favoring the strict conservation of the existing. This steep sloped plot is occupied by an old house on three levels and is placed between a high traffic street, one railway line and the shore of the lake Muzzano.
The building, elementary and slender in its original volume, marks the beginning of the residential settlements along this shore of the lake. Originally built as a summer residence, it endured repeated additional works that had compromised its elegant simplicity and the natural volumetric relationship with the lake.
Project
In the first instance the project focuses on the recovery of the original volume of the building; a topic that turns out quite radical when confronted with the very limited possibilities granted by the building regulations and which has demanded long negotiations with the authorities.
The demolition of all interventions is succeeded by the construction of a new volume which is placed horizontally at the foot of the main building. This new intervention, beside resolving the new requirements of the demanded program, answers the primary need to re-orient the building and its inner spaces towards the lake and the landscape.
The new body has been shifted from the main building to emphasize the original volume and to create a relationship with the garden to the west. A large window frames the landscape and re-establishes the relationship with the lake which becomes an integral part of the inner spaces of the house.
The apparent reinforced concrete annex introduces a new dimension and a new materialization which is placed in dialectic relationship with the existing building.
The internal organization meets the requirements of the client who demanded spaces of a larger size. Instead of the pre-existing typology defined by a central staircase which distributes two small rooms on each floor symmetrically, it has been decided on the placement a peripheral stair in order to allow the organization of more generous and flexible spaces.
