U15 Novello Eligio

Description

The building arises from the dialogue between traditional materials and a contemporary shape. As prelude to a journey, it inserts itself in the landscape as an autonomous and wedge-shaped contemporary Noah’s ark, moored to the slope by a ramp that binds it to the road. The V-shape of the main front, stretching out over the valley, emphasises the opening toward the lowlands. The ramp asserts the separation between the building and the road, inviting the visitor to embark on a discovery tour through the house, from the ground floor up to the panoramic view. The main apartment set on two levels cultivates a relationship with the sky with its double heights. The lower level is inscribed in the base, with outside extensions. A wide common welcome area overhangs an empty space on the ground floor and announces the vertical development of the volume. A mineral backbone structure differentiates spaces in the front and back, relating to the ground just as the wood skeleton relates to the surrounding landscape. The black concrete compound from the Arvel quarry evokes the brutality of the rock and the anchoring of the building in the mountains. Inside, the circulation system is made of smooth domestic concrete. On the façade, a web of larchwood slats filters the light, with variously shaped windows opening onto the spectacular landscape. The building can be seen as a metaphor for the forest, transformed into a light and weightless structure that detaches itself from its context – an invitation to departure.