HOUSE IN COMANO - architeria.eu

House in Comano.

Comano, set at 5 km north from Lugano (Ticino), is a little village at the foot of a hill. The plot is set as a kind
of boundary between the hill and the new urbanized area on a flatter surface.

The steep sloped land itself suggested to treat the land as it would be a built volume and part of the
architecture of the house. The project starts by modelling those terraces that represent a continuation
of the indoor spaces so that the entire plot is used and built as domestic space. In this way the outdoor
spaces flow inside and the indoor spaces flow towards outside. This way of stretching the spaces offers
the perception of living a larger space composed by different climatic, material and lighting conditions.
The sequence of spaces of different nature stretches the perception of time as well. We do believe that
a different treatment of the same spaces increase the perception of time and the feeling of well being.
The only “natural” land portion left is the hill side slope that works as scenery for the terraced areas.

This house has been planned with particular care to ensure intimacy and privacy while keeping a wide view
towards outside to enjoy the beautiful surrounding landscape without being seen from outside public spaces.
The use of shadowed spaces and of glazed winter gardens in this particular region becomes an energy
saving natural instrument while using passive solar energy in opposite ways during summer and winter.
Collecting heat through the flooring irradiation in winter and cooling through the shadowed porches
in summer.

The construction stands on the lower part of a steep slope; it organically integrates with the landscape
thanks to the verticality of two volumes built according to a strict regulation and bearing in mind the building
height in order to preserve the view on the historical village on top of the hill. The arrangement of the storeys
links every room, visually and physically, with the garden thus enhancing the feeling to be constantly
at ground level. The huge entrance porch, that serves also as covered car-park, is carved into the hill
as a cave; leaving the upper volume as if “floating” in the green landscape. The void generated between
the main volumes, hosts the stairs that link the shifted levels at different heights and give the feeling
of walking on the natural slope as if nature were part of the built spaces.

The house is composed by three concrete boxes and one in glass (patio) shifted of half storey each and
covered by a flat roof. The shifted movement in vertical of the boxes allows a rational adherence to the land
slope and reduce the excavation works. In this way all the indoor spaces are directly linked to the outdoor
ones and in this way the perception of being in a fluent spaces increases giving the feeling to the users of
being constantly in touch with the nature.

All storeys follow the natural slope of the land and from every storey the connection to outside is direct.
The entrance “cave” to the house is covered with the front portion of the garden so that the volume of the
house behind remains contoured by the green.

At street level + 0.50 there are the storage and technical rooms, the access to the house for pedestrian
as well for the cars as a kind of common large porch. At the first level two rooms, wardrobe and toilet with an
external shadowed space serving both rooms towards south-west. At the first and half (1 ½) floor there are
two additional bedrooms and toilet facing a covered private patio linked to the garden. At the second floor
the living room faces a large covered porch facing the pool. The exterior spaces are treated as they would be
a continuation of the interior ones by clear orthogonal geometries of different materials: concrete, grass,
water. At the second and half (2 ½) floor the kitchen opens itself towards the garden on the south and
towards the glazed patio (winter garden) on the west. The set back of the volume of the dining kitchen
offers a intimacy condition being far from the street. From the indoor spaces the users enjoy a spectacular
view towards outside while from outside it is difficult to look inside the house.

> Realization: 2005 - 2007
> Architects: DAVIDE MACULLO - Lugano - Switzerland, MARCO STROZZI - Lugano - Switzerland
> Collaborators: LAURA PEROLINI - Como - Italy, MARGHERITA PUSTERLA - Varese – Italy,
MICHELE ALBERIO - Como - Italy
> Engineer: LUIGI PELLEGRINELLI - ideal ingegno SA - Vezia - Switzerland
> Physical engineer: FRANCO SEMINI - Lugano - Switzerland
> Project manager: ENNIO MAGETTI - Minusio - Switzerland
> Photographer: ENRICO CANO - Como - Italy, PINO MUSI - Milano - Italy