Single Family Home Mergoscia/TI

Single Family Home Mergoscia/TI

The house from the 80s on a hillside location with a view of Lake Maggiore was completely gutted, fully overhauled and adapted to the requirements of the new owners:

In the formerly low and dark rooms, all ceiling and wall panelling was removed. In part, it was possible to dispense with the removal of the existing asbestos-containing tiled flooring thanks to an underfloor heating system with minimal construction. This was applied to the existing floor structure along with the parquet flooring.

The existing wooden staircase was removed together with the staircase substructure and replaced with an exposed concrete staircase. A ceiling opening into the basement connects a storage room for garden furniture, which was previously only accessible from the outside, with the living floors and is now used as a dining room for larger parties when pizza is made in the wood-burning oven. A plaster wall was replaced by a floor-to-ceiling glass opening, which makes the room open and spacious. Large openings were broken into the south side of the house, revealing a view of the reservoir below and Lake Maggiore.

A space-saving staircase now leads to the attic, which was previously only accessible through a hatch, and is located in a space-containing wall between the bathroom and the hallway. The bathtub was therefore moved to the attic - where it offers a view of the sky under two skylights. The entire attic was transformed into a loft studio, which can be separated from the lower area by a sliding door and offers a place of retreat.

In the materialisation, emphasis was placed on light and natural materials. The floors are covered with a white, naturally oiled plank parquet. The walls were plastered with a breathable lime plaster that is not painted over. In the bathrooms, natural stone slabs from Alpe Verdi were used as wall covering, as well as a Terrazzofino trowelled floor.

The lighting by means of LEDs shining indirectly onto the ceiling makes the rooms appear higher, but required great precision in the surface treatment. Direct light by means of adjustable spotlights is supplemented by decorative luminaires and light objects, which set points of brilliance and create cosiness.

The construction time, limited to 6 months, was adhered to despite Christmas holidays and a one-month closure of the road to the construction site. Due to the slope in the mountains, helicopters were sometimes used to transport heavy components.