In the calm of the mountains of Trentino, architect Andrea Dal Negro designed a home for his parents that embodies the dream of a couple who, after a life in the city, decided to embark on a new chapter of life close to the woods.
The architecture is designed to embrace the mountain landscape and looks towards the majestic Brenta Dolomites. Large windows dominate the façade, allowing daylight to flow into the spaces.
Orientations, materials, construction techniques and technological installations aim at a concept of sustainability, which aims to minimise environmental impact and exploit natural resources.
The building has two floors above ground and a technical basement.
Following the traditional typology of the surrounding houses, the ground floor is presented as a simple rectangular plastered volume serving as a basement, while the upper volume is divided into three smaller volumes, fragmenting the architecture.
The three volumes give rhythm to the building by playing with different inclinations of both the roof and the façade, animating the regular structure of the plan. Their inclination overlaps at times with the silhouette of the crest of the mountain peaks in front.
These volumes are complemented by large glazed and sloping loggias that play an important role in the building’s natural thermoregulation. The windows also perform the important function of allowing nature to permeate inside the building, favouring glimpses and views to the outside at various points of the house.
A large front garden completes the plot, along with a woodshed and a vegetable garden designed and sized to offer a varied diet of natural products.
The heart of the house has been designed as a single, spacious and bright room.
The ground floor is characterised by an extended double-height living area in the central part of the volume, dominated by a fireplace around which the living room, the kitchen with a natural stone island and a small study are located.
A sofa is placed between the living room and kitchen, acting as an element of continuity between the two spaces and encouraging conviviality with guests.
The rest of the floor is completed by a bedroom with bathroom and laundry room and a garage with two parking spaces. From here there is access via a staircase to the basement used as a cellar and technical room.
The second floor is connected by an open staircase and is divided into three zones reflecting the three architectural volumes.
The double-height central volume consists of a library and a study that directly overlook the living area on the ground floor, visually connecting and spatially uniting the two floors.
Through the library one reaches the sleeping area via a suspension bridge, having the feeling of floating above the living area.
The bedrooms are designed for intimacy and tranquillity. Located in the two side volumes and thus separated from each other, they are perceived as small individual wooden cottages overlooking the garden and the surrounding landscape.
These rooms offer an isolated space for rest and reflection and are complemented by a panoramic sauna, the view of which is directed from one of the loggias like a telescope towards the spectacular Brenta Dolomites.
For more information visit www.andreadalnegro.com.
CREDITS
Project: Credai House
Studio: Andrea Dal Negro Architect
Location: Trentino, Italy
Year: 2023
Photo: Giulia Maretti
