|
SERVICES |
|
|
|
CasaTravella, Castel San Pietro (Switzerland) A residential building in the Swiss region of Mendrisiotto skilfully combines openness and privacy. The transparent ground floor enclosed in glass is stylishly complemented by the copper clad façade of the top floor. The copper red TECU® Classic Shingles are laid to create a relief pattern which makes impressive use of the play of light.  The glazed interior landscape sits on a base of black concrete while the copper façade of the bedroom floor offers a fascinating picture which changes according to the time of day and season. With this house, architect Aldo Celoria's design has gone a step even more daring than many of the other modern buildings in this area of Switzerland. The external design of the building gives a hint of the consistent spatial rigidity of the inside area: an open ground floor, an intimate top floor, a roof terrace split up by angled walls. The communicative quality of this compilation is fascinating. During the day light floods the ground floor, giving the inhabitants continuous visual contact with their surroundings; as night falls the interior lighting lights up the patio and garden and, together with the illuminated windows on the top floor, allows the individual room structure to be seen from outside. On the top of the building the TECU® Classic Shingles constantly change colour – depending on the weather and the daylight. For instance, in the morning the façade has a subdued red colour, which takes on a greenish glimmer as the day progresses; in the evening this once more changes to an aubergine colour which becomes a fiery red as the sun goes down. Later, as the years pass, the effects of weathering will trigger some more changes. Then the reddish brown copper colour will change to matt, dark brown shades which in many places will take on the green patina that is so typical for copper – the oxide layer that will protect the surface for many years to come. Copper has a lively surface which contributes a lot to the communicative properties of the house and is a perfect complement to the pleasant colours of the landscape. Initially the house owners had trouble imagining the unique quality of this special material. They were familiar with concrete walls and flat roofs and could picture them as design elements – but a metal façade which constantly changes colour, where you never quite know what it will look like? But the architect, who became very enthusiastic about the material after seeing Alvar Aalto's copper roofs in Helsinki, was able to convince them. Today the owners are fascinated by the quality of the play of colours which harmonise so perfectly with the natural surroundings of the house. The building's communicative aspects are highlighted again on the flat roof, where the children of the house have a play area that they can access directly from their rooms in the top floor via a ladder. In spite of its unpretentious architecture the inside of the house offers an amazing spatial-aesthetic experience. The architect, who was still a student at the nearby academy when he made the first draft, allowed himself to be inspired by the landscape and, above all, by the terraced vineyards in the region. He wanted to create a flowing interior space which would be transparent enough to allow unobstructed views of the Mendrisiotto region. He realized this concept by using a lot of glass – even upstairs the different sized windows provide different views into the distance – and, above all, by doing without walls wherever possible. The architect says that he hates walls, and so, strictly speaking there is only one in the entire house – a long drawn-out "S" of shiny, painted concrete which goes from the basement to above the roof. It meanders through the interior and serves as a constructional bearing element for both floors. By penetrating the flat roof it forms a separating wall with differing heights, which provides shade and wind protection for the roof terrace and children's play area. This central wall is also a functional bearing element for the interior design: stairs, wet cells, kitchen furnishings, storage space and book shelves are assembled directly on to the wall. The mainly black, reflective paint on the wall and the floor also carries a metallic shine into the interior, complementing the copper chimney head and the copper lights - designed by the architect himself - which provide a subdued light for the staircase. Aldo Celoria knows how to deploy his fascination for copper in a skilful manner. Project data:
 |
back