La casa degli Ippocastani
The renovation project concerns a two-level apartment within the historic Casa Ripa, an early twentieth-century Art Nouveau building overlooking a tree-lined avenue in the centre of Biella. The intervention redefines the internal layout by introducing a new continuity between the two floors, reinforced by natural light descending from the rooftop terrace. The decorated plaster vault, previously concealed, becomes once again a central element of the domestic space. On the upper level, the new elongated terrace establishes a direct relationship with the landscape: the horse chestnut trees along the avenue enter the living space, while the Alpine skyline emerges beyond the rooftops of the city. The project seeks a balance between the recovery of historic elements and contemporary transformation, grounded in spatial continuity, light, and a constant relationship with the exterior.
