Refurbishment historical house | bb. architetti associati

PLOT
The property, which consists of two plots, is located on the edge of the historical centre of the village of Novaggio in the Canton of Ticino and belongs to the Nucleo zone of the town plan. One of the two plots is occupied by the house, which is connected to the municipal road, while the other plot is the garden and faces south-west.

SITUATION BEFORE THE REDEVELOPMENT:
The building, erected towards the end of the 18th century, first served as a retreat for clergymen, then became a ‘customs house’ at the beginning of the 20th century and was finally converted into a private house; the last renovation was in 1950. The building consists of two main floors on the first and second floors, a garden level floor with accessory rooms and an attic floor. Access to the building is from the south through the garden to the arched stone gate and from the north through a courtyard used for parking. The wall structure consists of a mixture of plastered stone and brick, to which new layers of lime and cement plaster have been applied over the years. The ceilings consist of wooden beams, also covered with different materials over the years, and a rough plastered ceiling as the soffit. The barrel vaults on the ground floor are made of stone and the cross vaults on the second floor are of lime-plastered wire. The roof is pitched in wood and covered with tiles. In general, the building was very modest in terms of installations and finishes.

PROJECT:
The building is to be reused as a private housing unit and its external architectural expression is to be preserved. The existing stone masonry and openings are to be maintained, with two selective alterations to the north entrance and the south ground floor, while the interiors are to be refurbished and the furnishings and installations brought up to current standards. Great importance is placed on the restoration of the original materials, removing as much as possible of the unnecessary layers that have been added over time. The main entrance is still located on the north side, at the level of the courtyard on the 1st floor, from which one can access the residential floor. From here one can go upstairs to the sleeping area and the attic, which is free as a multi-purpose room, or one can go down to the ground floor, where the new kitchen with direct access to the garden, the service rooms and the old cellar are located.

A black-and-white panoramic photograph taken in 1946 shows that the loggia on the first floor of the building, with its cross vaults, was originally an open space, like most attics in Ticino houses of that period. Although, at the client's request, the loggia had to remain closed, the renovation tried to come as close as possible to the image of the open loggia, expressed by the new large windows without mullions or divisions and with minimal profiles, so that the dominant image of the arched opening was maintained. The arched loggia on the south façade, at garden level, was created from an existing opening, which was subsequently walled up. The same type of intervention was used for the north entrance loggia, with an arched opening and a recessed glazed front. Both interventions create a good balance in the expression of the façades in dialogue with the existing openings, on the one hand, and contribute to the functionality of the use of the new rooms behind, on the other.

ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY:
A complete refurbishment and renovation was necessary for the facilities. The building envelope was renewed with new, effective interior insulation, new triple-glazed windows, new insulation against the ground and a new insulated roof, bringing it up to the GEAKplus energy standard. A heat pump combined with geothermal probes was installed to heat and supply hot water to the building.