Project title: Casa del Masso
Project location: Como Italy
Client: private owners
Architectural design by: Studio di Architettura Marco Castelletti
Interior design by: Studio di Architettura Marco Castelletti
Landscape design by: Studio di Architettura Marco Castelletti
Structural design by: Ingeneer. Vittorio Montanini
HVAC design by Ingeneer. Vittorio Montanini
Lighting design by: Zumtobel
Main Contractor: Impresa Biacchi s.a.s. – Plesio (Co)
Landscape contractor: Impresa Biacchi s.a.s. – Plesio (Co)
Photographs : Filippo Simonetti - Brunate
Site Area: 3000 sq/mt
Built up area: 200 sq/mt
Budget: 750.000,00 euro
Cost per sq. metre: 1.800,00 euro
Project Status: carried out
At the end of 2002 the clients contacted me and other architects to decide
who will have designed their son's house.
They wanted to built this new house next to their one, in the garden faces
the lake, and they wished an architecture inspired to the “razionalismo
comasco”, the typical architecture of the thirties which had as main
figure the architect Giuseppe Terragni.
So they chose the project which was better in terms from their expectations
and selected mine. The project's main idea gave the name to the building:
"casa del masso".
The house, set on a steep slope above the street, can be clearly noticed
by the opposite lakeside.
The building stands by the side of the client's old house designed by
engineer Luciano Trolli in 1955, and it takes advantage of a little tract
of flat land as the previous house.
The house is linked to the street by a long flight of steps which winds
along the slope and it's organised in two floors.
The composition is based on the intersection of two volumes: the first
one, facing the lake, is an horizontal structure supported by pilotis
where there are all the living and bedrooms wherehas the second one is
vertical holding the staicase and the services rooms.
On the first floor the living room crosses the house and is directly connected
with the slope behind. Here the presence of a erratic boulder, in italian
language "masso" (here is where the name of the house comes),
suggested to incorporate it in the dwelling as the characterising element
of the space so that it seems that the house is anchored to the slope
in this point.
The boulder can be seen trought a glass laying on the floor of the living
room.
The planimetric organisation of the two floors reflects the volumes' one
and divides the internal surfaces in two parts: the first in front, which
faces directly the lake, including living room and bedrooms and the other
on the back including stair and services.
A long and narrow corridor, equipped with closets, separates these two
rectangles: they are perpendicolary intersected by the vertical juxtaposition
of the system which connect the groundfloor porch of the entrance with
the living room on the first floor.
You can enter the property from the ramp which comes up to the level of
the parking area over the car boxes on the street.
From the parking you can reach the main entrance with a flight of steps
or an elevator running on the side of the garden.
After reaching the main entrance a footpath covered by a overhanging volume
introduces in a little hall where you can see the landscape and the monuments
of the city.
From here a large staircase takes to a atrium with the large glass window
which frames the erratic boulder.
To the external footpath is connected a little apartament with two floors
and the staircase leading to the second floor.
The internal layout of the main dwelling put the kitchen, the living room
and some other rooms towards the lake, while bathrooms, services and the
laundry are put towards the slope.
From here the staircase goes up to the upper floor where there are the
terrace and some storage rooms.
The materials used to build the house enhance the volumetric composition
and the difference between the horizontal volume, suspended and completely
covered by a plaster made also by a white marble dust, and the vertical
covered with a natural stone called Iragna, laid down in horizontal layers
with different length and thickness.
The same stone was used for the external pavements, the main entrance
staircase and the terrace floor on the highest level.
The large windows are divided in sliding parts with electrical rolling
shutter made by aluminium.
The building set towards the south-west part of the lake takes advantage
of a really good solar exposure which allowes to have all the living rooms
and the bedrooms facing south and services and bathrooms facing north.
The clients were really satisfied of the project and followed all the
phases of the building that, because of the particular nature of the steep
land, involved many problems.
The crane to build the house was placed on the slope with an helicopter
able to transport heavy weights. However the house was carried out in
seventeen months, from may 2003 to december 2004, as provided
Studio di
Architettura Marco Castelletti
Lake Como house - Photographer:
Filippo Simonetti - Brunate (Como) f.simonetti@tin.it
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