The architectural regeneration of a building lacking identity in the peri-urban area of Morbegno represents a distinctive project that combines contemporary design and traditional craftsmanship.
The design work by altrostudio architetti is situated among modest interventions and secondary infrastructures, framed by the evocative and rugged mountainous scenery. The project aims to create a distinctive mark that enhances the family business of the owners, which for two generations has been providing customizations of sheet metal and metalwork to craftsmen and businesses.
The renovation of the single-family building took place through varied types of interventions. On the ground floor, a conservative criterion was chosen for the reinforced concrete consolidations, while on the first floor, a contemporary approach was adopted to enhance the construction technology of the lightweight wooden facades, which were later clad.
The roof slopes have been completely rebuilt with the aim of bringing the living comfort of the main floor to excellence. The new insulation layers and the new metal roofing, besides covering the two sloping slopes, have been vertically reproduced on the facades of the reconstructed floor, almost outlining a second skin with a suspended protective function. The metal roofing was made of aluminum Prefalz with double seam, while the facade cladding was made with a profile in extruded aluminum alloy PREFA Zeta with a painted surface in the same color 01 P.10 used on the roof.
The minimal silhouette is designed by extending the outline of a large tympanum with an off-center ridge due to the only overhang on the south front. From this extension, a generous covered terrace has been created, usable for at least six months a year as a true domestic extension of the living and kitchen areas.
Following the discussion on landscape compatibility, a grid of wooden beams painted in a blue-gray color was introduced, whose function, purely aesthetic, may seem load-bearing. Their sloping arrangement sought a compositional break from the innovative and linear design of the Z-profile, almost as if seeking a connection with the columnar forests of the mid-mountain conifers.
By resizing the volumes, the rest of the finishes of the envelope were chosen in harmony with the colors of the metal partitions. The stone thresholds were selected from quartzites tending towards blue-gray, the fir wood paneling, and all the metal inserts such as aluminum fixtures, fences, sectional doors, and parapets, were painted tone on tone.
The facade colors visible on the ground floor were proposed in a neutral way to give more prominence to the detailed finishes, designed to emphasize the fullness and emptiness of the original building. This approach made the finishes protagonists both in practical and aesthetic terms, creating a balance in the discontinuous and anonymous composition of the original building.
