丨瑞士丨celoria Architects

Architects:celoria Architects

Area:350m²

Year:2020

Photographs:Giorgio Marafioti,celoria Architecs

Manufacturers:BORA,Flaminia,Griesser,Metra Building,PLH,TABS,swisspor

Category:Residential Architecture,Houses

Design Team:Aldo Celoria, Verena Argenti, Nadia Cristelo Dias, Paolo Tutone

Construction Company:Pietro Calderari

Civil Engineer:Brenni Engineering

Heating And Ventilation Engineer And Building Physics:Cimarolli Fabio and Andrea

Electrical Engineer:P&P studio elettrotecnico

Plumbing And Heating Systems:Momoidraulica

Metal Constructions:Cometecs suisse

Plastering Work:ATN

Painter:Emiliano Cavadini

Joint Free Floors:Pantic

Chimney Sweep Work:Fabio Rezzonico & Co

City:Mendrisio

Country:Switzerland

Text description provided by the architects. In the heart of the Tremona district, in the municipality of Mendrisio, a steep terrain provides the opportunity for a powerful architectural gesture. Here, a single-family home rises like a concrete monolith from the ground, blending in with the natural morphology of the soil.

The project develops vertically, following the logic of the slope, like an ascending path of living. At the base, the concrete plinth is immersed in the earth, housing the sleeping area and garage. The architectural body then opens upwards, culminating in a bright, open space that accommodates the living area: a domestic observatory facing the landscape.

The choice to position the living area on the upper level offers an uninterrupted view of the surrounding nature, relating to the forest to the east and creating a direct connection with the green area to the north. A continuous 1.30-meter-high perimeter window forms a transparent ribbon that embraces the view, allowing light and silence to filter through, while ensuring privacy for daily activities.

Inside this suspended volume, space flows seamlessly. The only exceptions within this fluid, continuous space are the small pantry area and the kitchen. Protecting this ethereal environment, a four-pitched roof rests on eight pillars, creating a section that varies between 1.30 and 5.40 meters in height, in a play of proportions that enhances the sense of refuge and openness.

The house was born from the client's desire for a place of peace, where time expands between the pages of a book in front of the fireplace, and where she can welcome her children's families during school holidays. An architecture designed to experience silence and intimacy, while maintaining a strong connection with the landscape.

The internal layout is organized around a vertical core: a staircase connecting the three levels, which, rather than being a simple functional element, becomes a hinge between depth and lightness, between shadow and light.

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