Ruinelli Associati Architetti : Studio Cascina Garbald - best architects 21

Ruinelli Associati Architetti

Studio Cascina Garbald

best architects 21

single family homes

Place

Castasegna, Switzerland

Photos

Raymond Meier

Description

The Studio Cascina is situated in the field behind the building complex of the Villa Garbald. The house is a reconstruction of the former chestnut kiln that once stood here and has the same location, volume and height – not only because this is what the building regulations prescribe, but also because the architects sought to establish a sensitive approach to the development and to the landscape. The project references local traditions and interprets them anew. The building, intended as a location for limited working visits by researchers, is kept to the essentials in its dimensions and functions. In a contemporary fashion, it also alludes to the original craft practised here. Everything has been made «by hand»: the rough exterior rendering, the tamped concrete walls, the mortar flooring on the ground floor and stairs, the chestnut doors, windows, furniture and cladding, the industrial bronze lamps and the ceramic basin, created by a local artist. The result is architecture in which the attention to detail in execution and the mood of the materials are clearly discernible. A space that engages visitors emotionally.