The farmhouse is situated in a meadow behind the villa Garbald complex. The project involved the restructuring of a preexisting building, maintaining the identical position, volume and height of the original structure. This was done not simply to comply with building regulations but also as an intentionally non-invasive approach to theme and context.
Studio Name: Ruinelli Associati Architetti
Design Team: Armando Ruinelli, Fernando Giovanoli, Anna Innocenti, Tamara Guerrazzi, Alessandro Curti
Area: 100 mq
Year: 2018-2019
Location: Castasegna – CH
Consultants:
Afri Switzerland, Moreno Giudicetti – structural engineer
Kuster + Partner AG, Harald Seibert – building physics
Markus Steiner – mortar and plasters specialist
Photography Credits: Marcello Mariana, Raymond Meier, Ralph Feiner
The project rigorously reinterprets the original by way of current building practice and a few light contemporary touches most clearly articulated in the selection of the materials.
The building, which is destined to provide temporary accommodation for researchers, has been distilled to essentials in terms of size and function, everything designed and executed with traditional craftsmanship. All the work has been undertaken ‘by hand’; the rough external plastering, the walls in tamped concrete, the surface of the ground floor and the stairs in mortar, the woodwork in chestnut – the door and window frames, the furniture and the panelling – the lamps in industrial bronze and the sink realized in ceramic by a local artist.
The result is architecture which reveals the care taken in the construction process, the ‘harmony’ of the materials and a space capable of involving the visitor on an emotional level.
