In the heart of the Lombard Alps, in Madesimo, a small mountain building is brought back to life thanks to an intervention of radical simplicity by Enrico Scaramellini. The project Casa PJA, developed by ES-ARCH studio, is an intense and austere reflection on Alpine identity, which, through humble materials and measured gestures, finds a balance between memory, transformation, and context.
The intervention interacts with an existing building, partly preserved, partly expanded and reconstructed on the original footprint. It is precisely in the dialectic between what remains and what is added that architecture takes shape: the historic stone parts are left exposed as tangible traces of the past, while the new volumes are clearly distinguished through the careful use of lime plaster, a living material that narrates the new stratification.
The project thus adopts a deliberately rigorous and silent language, inspired by the spontaneous architecture of the Alpine valleys but revisited with contemporary awareness. The forms are clean, archetypal, yet integrated into the landscape. The floor plan reflects the original layout, but the spatial organization responds to the needs of a modern residence, while maintaining the logic of essentiality and measure.
The transformation is profound but never mimetic: the design does not conceal, it declares. Every added part is recognizable; every gesture tells its function and its time. In this way, Casa PJA becomes a narrative built of matter, light, and silence, capable of reimagining the place with an architecture that speaks the language of frugality.
ES-ARCH | Enrico Scaramellini Architect
Native to the Alpine context, Enrico Scaramellini develops a design practice that combines experience in building within fragile territories with academic research, as a professor at the Politecnico di Milano. His projects—always in dialogue with the landscape and the history of the places—have been selected for numerous architecture exhibitions and awards in Italy and abroad, including Padiglione Italia, Premio Piranesi, Architect of the Year CNAPPC, and Premio Inarch.
For more info: Instagram – @enricoscaramelliniarchitetto
CREDITS
Project: Casa PJA – Frugality and Materiality
Architect: ES-ARCH | Enrico Scaramellini
Location: Madesimo (SO), Italy
Year: 2022
Photography: Marcello Mariana
