Located in the small hamlet of Lottano, in the altitude band of the so-called 'mid-coast' of the mountains surrounding Chiavenna, the House in Lottano is a proving ground for the return to inhabitation of uninhabited villages.
The entire intervention is based on a respectful and complementary relationship with the existing rustic building and the entire context. The context is referred to both as the layout and typological characteristics of the buildings in the area, and as the Alpine environment in its natural and physical aspects.
Of the existing rustic building, the perimeter walls, made of stone, are retained, their load- bearing function confirmed, maintaining the material for its original vocation, without distorting it to an ephemeral "skin" or "bark".
Inside, a metal skeleton is installed to replace the old wooden beams, irreparably damaged by water infiltration from the roof and almost a century of use and then abandonment.
The adjacent stone volume, of posthumous age and now reduced to a rubble heap, is completely renewed by a volume of the same size and shape but made of wood, both in structure and cladding.
Perhaps the most characterising and distinctive element of the project is the large window that completely cuts through the south façade. It stands where a crack opened up the wall completely, from the roof down to the ground.
The renovation work follows the principles of Boito's restoration theory, denouncing the paradigm of architectural truth in every choice.
The stone used as a load-bearing material is preserved as evidence of the existing building, and is accompanied by the materials of the renovation work, each used according to the thread of self-reference.
Wood performs a structural and protective function, with it one can immediately identify the entire volume that replaced the collapsed stone one. The physical entity is the same, but the contrast of material declares the age and identity of the new intervention. The shell evokes the texture of the demolished ruin and the adjacent stone wall; it is composed of planks and lamellas, arranged horizontally in alternating rhythms. The plank depicts the stone courses, while the lamellas depict the mortar joints. In this way, the two textures meet and one is a natural continuation of the other, without the need for a seam between the two.
The glass exacerbates the fracture of the fissure that had irreversibly compromised the south façade. Inevitably, during the initial inspection, the light filtered through the crack makes one perceive the potential of such a gesture, spontaneously but almost forcedly indicating the right way forward. The need that generated the fissure is thus "freed" and indulged, the façade is cut across its entire height, the opening is total in contact with the outside through the use of glass. This element establishes the point of greatest dialogue with the natural context, the rooms are affected by this projection towards nature and the forest, configuring a hybrid space between inside and outside. From the courtyard outside, the strength of the glass is fully understood, the almost imposing height inevitably shifts the gaze upwards, and at the same time the reflection of the forest in the glass gives the observer the idea of immersion in the forest.
Iron is unravelled throughout the building as a common thread. Every structural component, in the house as in the furniture, is expressed by means of tubes and beams that denote their function. Functional clarity is respected in the composition, even in the furniture it is evident what is supported and what is not, nothing tries to cover or hide each member. Iron lightens the entire room perception, it is found in everything technical, the handles, the taps, the lights.
A single colour holds the whole building together, black unifies the features of each space, making them recognisable and untethered from time and the fashion of the moment.
The internal organisation is clear and linear, given the almost 'tower-like' conformation, each floor contains only one room, and this single room performs only one function. Thus on the ground floor is the kitchen, with the possibility of opening into the adjacent courtyard, to obtain a unique space, a hybrid between indoors and outdoors. On the first floor is the living room, a filter area as the entrance door overlooks it and from here it is possible to descend towards the living area, or to ascend and enter the more intimate space of the sleeping area. On the second floor is the bedroom, a double-height room with a small mezzanine that houses only the bed. The elevated position ensures an absolute sense of intimacy and at the same time allows the most open view of the entire valley. The service rooms, such as the bathroom and the heating boiler, are inserted into the wooden volume in a coherent way in the overall reading, confirming which room is servant and which is served.
Each piece of furniture was designed and conceived exclusively for the place in which it would be placed, always seeking essentiality in design and composition, so as not to disturb the readability of the spaces but rather to enhance them and lend elegance to the function they would perform.
The cleanliness of the interventions seeks to give weight to the substance of the choices, architecture is composed through its own elements, without resorting to slogans or ephemeral solutions aimed at changing only the appearance of the artefact and in the most superficial way.
