AN ENERGY AND FUNCTIONAL REDEVELOPMENT OF A BEGINNING 20th CENTURY HOME
The aim of the project is the functional and energy recovery of the building. The choice, in re-designing the interiors, was to preserve the general aesthetics of the building, putting the insulation inside the perimetric masonry.
The insulation is made with toasted brown cork, then finished with plaster-fiber and plasterboard slabs. Ground floors will be insulated with cellular glass in slabs, which act as anti-radon gas.
The achievement of high performance allowed to restore the ground floor rooms and the first floor terrace to housing functions. The rooms on the ground floor become, in the new arrangement, the sleeping area, connected to the first floor through a new linear staircase that lands in the living room. The west terrace, enclosed by large windows and opaque elements covered in wooden slats, is intended for the kitchen and dining area.
On the existing facades, square-shaped windows have been added, which clearly denounce their contemporaneity but which are also connected to the existing through large plaster frames. The portico is closed by large wooden external doors and windows, while a slatted cladding marks the entire volumetric recovery operation as a virtual strip, emphasizing the newly built part by contrast to the existing one. This wooden band also covers the existing brick pillars.
Energy recovery is accomplished by the installation of some advanced systems: the photovoltaic system is integrated into the double pitch roof, towards the South; summer and winter air conditioning is carried out by an air heat pump with thermodynamic controlled mechanical ventilation. The gas supply is discontinued.
Year: 2018
Structure: Conventional
Client: Private
State: Completed
Location: Varese
Photo credits: Marco Reggi and Matteo Gilli