ASPER

Countryside family house

Operating in a territory whose character has been drastically altered by a mere parcelling logic, with the only scope of creating space for the development of single-family houses, requires a twofold approach. On the one hand providing a generous and qualitative space for the dwellers and on the other hand considering the quality of unbuilt space as even important to preserve the rural essence of the area. The perception of the farmland behind the house is guaranteed by literally organizing the plot in functional strips of different widths perpendicular to the street. Altering the parcelling regulations, all the built volumes are consequently positioned on a 7-meter-wide strip and alternated by green volumes, minimising the length and the impact of the façade along the street. The house is constituted by two independent elements: an external structure formed by a double height wall of reclaimed bricks and 6 concrete columns supporting a pitched roof, and an internal wooden skeleton that provides the actual inhabitable spaces of the house. The very generous porch originated by the different widths of the two structures provides a space in between inside and outside that can be eventually closed to form a winter garden. The independence of the internal and external structures assures a long-term adaptability of the plan letting its program extend, shrink, change or perhaps revert back to agricultural functions.