In Sesto, a well-known town in South Tyrol, PLASMAstudio is designing the expansion of a villa with panoramic views of the Dolomites. The villa originally housed a master apartment, plus four residential units
Expansion in the Dolomites. A Villa from the 60's houses six new Apartments
The Villa Drei Birken residence is located in the hilly landscape of the Dolomites and lies on the edge of a residential area. The structure, built in the 60s and renovated in the 80s, now houses six apartments
Thanks to the expansion, the structure now houses six residential apartments, along with some common areas. The volume is quite simple and of a reasonable height. The south façade is completely open and oriented towards the landscape, starting with a closed façade to the north and opening to the south with the V shape of the west façade
The existing Villa will also have to be visible in the future as an independent building, so the extension doesn't rely on the existing one, but stands out through a shadow gap. It must be placed discreetly close to the Villa, so it is inserted in the slope of the rocky subsoil
The volume covers the full width and is lower than the existing one. The expansion is oriented towards the landscape through a slight rotation. In the underground floor, the two buildings are linked by a connecting element, not visible from the street and used as a recreation room
The north and east façades are quite narrow, underlining the distinction between the existing and new building so that the rooms that do not require natural light are positioned here. The new volume is accessed from the north side, where there are also parking lots. The six apartments with full-height glazed windows are oriented towards the landscape of the Dolomites and the sun. The precluded outdoor space can be found on the extensive green roof with an integrated terrace
The expansion is carried out with very little materiality and color: bands of preoxidized copper with various widths surround the volume while large windows of full length provide maximum panoramic views
The northern part differs from the rest thanks to the larch coating which is processed with an accelerator of the pigmented greying process made of iron sulphates. Both copper and larch are particularly prone to natural color changes due to the atmospheric influence of sun, rain and snow and are very well suited to the landscape both for new buildings and over time. The range of colors was picked up from the Villa with its dark wood in the roof structure and on the balconies
The interiors are simple and functional. The furniture was made of oiled birch or imbued in the color of copper
Particular attention was paid to improving the energetic performance of the building: triple-glazed doors and windows, controlled ventilation system, heating system with a pallet boiler and thermal-acoustic insulation made of wood fibre
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