Studio Cascina Garbald | Ruinelli Associati Architetti

The farmhouse is situated in a meadow behind the villa Garbald complex. The project involved the restructuring of a preexisting building, maintaining the identical position, volume and height of the original structure. This was done not simply to comply with building regulations but also as an intentionally non-invasive approach to theme and context.
The project rigorously reinterprets the original by way of current building practice and a few light contemporary touches most clearly articulated in the selection of the materials.
The building, which is destined to provide temporary accommodation for researchers, has been distilled to essentials in terms of size and function, everything designed and executed with traditional craftsmanship. All the work has been undertaken ‘by hand’; the rough external plastering, the walls in tamped concrete, the surface of the ground floor and the stairs in mortar, the woodwork in chestnut - the door and window frames, the furniture and the panelling - the lamps in industrial bronze and the sink realized in ceramic by a local artist.
The result is architecture which reveals the care taken in the construction process, the ‘harmony’ of the materials and a space capable of involving the visitor on an emotional level.

Collaborators: Fernando Giovanoli, architect - partner; Alessandro Curti, architect; Tamara Guerrazzi, architect; Anna Innocenti, architect.

Consultants: Moreno Giudicetti, structural engineer - Afry; Markus Steiner, specialist in plaster and mortar floor.

Photography
Raymond Meier - www.raymondmeier.com

Marcello Mariana - www.marcellomariana.it

Ralph Feiner - www.feinerfotografie.ch