projects | Viabizzuno progettiamo la luce

pr house is a fascinating dwelling in the dolomites on the border between italy and austria which was redesigned to make best advantage of the potential usage of the living areas. the existing building featured a hall that was too big and too high, with the remainder of the rooms arranged around it, an arrangement that made continuous crossing of the entrance hall unavoidable. the kitchen, dining room, living room and stube on the ground floor were out of proportion with the rest of the house and did not get enough light. for this reason, it was decided to demolish the ground floor completely and a new clear glass screen with a plasterboard partition added is now the only division between the different areas. some external additions were also made to the house, on the one hand to extend the entrance hall and on the other for a multifunctional space containing the dining room, relaxation and study areas. to make the rooms as light as possible, most of the façades were demolished and replaced with new purpose-made structural silicone curtain-walling, with transoms flush to the floor and ceiling and large single-track sliding doors to ensure interaction between inside and out. due to the very low winter temperatures, the heating installation is a combined system using radiant panels at floor level, radiators flush with the floor along the perimeter of the curtain-walling, a wood-burning stove and a gas stove that affords views through to the outside. the house is fitted with an ibus home-automation system and particular attention has been paid to the audio-visual installation, which includes invisible speakers recessed into false walls or suspended ceilings. almost everything has been custom designed, including the kitchen, the tables, desks, and gas and wood-burning stoves. since maple is an unstable timber, the slats in contact with radiant panels were purpose-made using two 2.5mm thicknesses of canadian maple veneered onto chipboard. the 200mm width of the slats dictates the layout of all components, from walls to furniture. the garden is surrounded with a 2.5 metre high timber wall with prominent horizontals to emphasise the perspective and create a play of shadows and light from the sun throughout the day and from the light fittings buried in the ground, radiating light from below at night. the house is surrounded with ipe hardwood decking in 140mm wide slats, which also cover a sunbathing platform with inset jacuzzi and two cantilevered tables. for sun protection in the summer months, a system of horizontally sliding shades on motorised tracks allows visual contact to be maintained between inside and out. a steel-framed wooden canopy on one side makes it possible to stay outside even on a rainy day.