Uno Chalet tra le nevi | Antonio Perrone

Location
At the end of 2021 we were contacted by a couple of mountain-loving professionals to help them design a small chalet in Cesana Torinese. The clients were owners of a rustic house located in Monti della Luna which they intended to expand and transform into a modern chalet.

The shape of the building
The project began with precise suggestions from the client who already had a general shape of the construction in mind but required reflection on the internal spaces and the liveability of the house with very pronounced roof pitches. The building has a shape similar to an Indian tent in which the roof becomes the wall of the building, giving a very specific silhouette to the building: the cuneiform profile of the nearby mountains. If the double-pitched roof is opaque to accommodate photovoltaic panels and some roof windows, the two opposite walls instead open up to complete transparency over the landscape.

Housing levels
The building consists of a basement floor which houses the garage, the sky-room, a blind bathroom and a wellness area. The main floor has a large living room with an upper mezzanine, two bedrooms and two bathrooms with windows, one of which is attached to the master bedroom. Through the staircase that connects the three levels we reach the first mezzanine floor where we find a large master room with dedicated bathroom. In this room, via a ladder, you reach the top of the attic used as a small alcove.

Materials
The material par excellence used in the construction is heat-treated larch wood which constitutes the structural chassis of the building and the infill covering of all the vertical and inclined walls. Wood also becomes the preferred material for both internal and external windows and flooring. The other materials play a subsidiary role such as metal, glass and a palette of furnishing fabrics which liven up the internal atmosphere of the chalet.

Furnishings and lighting
Many furnishings in the house are custom-made: from the internal staircase to the large kitchen, to all the service wardrobes in the bedrooms. As well as the large dining table in the living room. A few selected design pieces are recognizable in the house: from the Edra sofa to the Focus fireplace to many lamps by Artemide and Flos. At the top of the mezzanine the Moon lamp by Davide Groppi is clearly visible: a reference to the nearby Monti della Luna. In the evening the lamp appears from inside and outside the chalet like the romantic satellite that we are used to admiring in our night sky. The external terrace on the main floor is furnished with a large table with benches entirely made of wood and an open metal hearth for barbecues with friends. On the opposite side there are two balconies that guarantee the sleeping areas an external landing on the valley.