The existing house dating from 1936 was surprisingly much larger than the other houses in the area. Its entire envelope (roof and facades) required renovating in order to reduce the substantial heat losses. The owner also considered his house too big and wished to rent out a part of it. Our mission was to reconfigure the interior of the house programmatically and rethink its entire external envelope, that is, its new architectural expression.

The project proposed the construction of two large roof overhangs on the north and south facades, like aeroplane wings, to create a spacious shaded terrace to the south and provide cover on the north side. These large overhangs have “light tunnel” openings oriented according to the sun’s path, offering protection from the heat in summer and the possibility to benefit from direct sunlight in winter.

The facades have a simple horizontal cladding in pre-greyed wood. Particular attention has been given to the treatment of the window frames, whose opening angles are oriented according to the course of the sun. The window casing is made up of narrow wood fluting, created simply by staggering the planks used for the cladding. This treatment is an allusion to classic buildings of the early 20th century, the architecture of Scarpa and old cameras.

Inside the house, the most significant intervention is the creation of a new duplex apartment in the north part. In the main apartment, besides the displacement of the kitchen to the south part, the walls, floors and ceilings have only received a modest face-lift.