Description

Here the rural and suburban area on the outskirts of Milan consists mainly of well-spaced family homes with lavish plots. The architects opted for the classical-archaic type: a relatively shallowly inclined, low gable-roofed house whose form is reminiscent of anonymous rural buildings, like barns. By simply dividing the programme into two halves, living on the one hand and sleeping on the other, two volumes of the same type were created, a ‘day house’ and a ‘night house’. Together with a third garage section they form an ensemble whose disposition clearly brings rural farmsteads to mind: buildings grouped around an inner courtyard with an existing tree at the access point, polygonal contours for the buildings, ‘rhomboids’ in this example, and sections running together at their corners as the only connection between the function areas.These measures aesthetically enhance, in fact declare as an architectural motif, a form and combination of rural domestic buildings that is mainly justified in terms of functions.

A courtyard at the back, framed by two old trees and a pergola, separates part of the garden from the rest of the green lawn. The subtlety of the formal concept lies in a skilful blending of polygonal and orthogonal forms that avoids the impression of random association. Courtyard outlines and the simple internal structure of the houses form right angles, with outlines and the roof joints of the ridge-high rooms contrasting with this in a lively composition. Genius loci and a consistent aesthetic concept produce an impressive spatial structure, crowned by the ‘barn’ as a generous living hall.

---

Originally published in: Klaus-Peter Gast, Living Plans: New Concepts for Advanced Housing, Birkhäuser, 2005.