With its cold yet elegant appearance, this contemporary residence is located in Urgnano, Italy, and it was designed by Matteo Casari Architetti. It boasts 3,767 square feet of living space and was put together using two main materials, namely concrete and glass. The main anthracite concrete box was raised 4.9 feet from the ground and features a single entryway backed by a bent glass wall that divides the patio.
The outdoor deck flaunts lounging chairs as well as a swimming pool, which is disconnected from the main residence as it is not contained within the box. Large glass panels on the ground floor offer uninterrupted views of the outdoors while encouraging a generous flow of natural light. The house is closed completely at its upper level in order to maintain privacy and comfort.
From the architect:
The house in Urgnano (BG), designed by Matteo Casari Architetti was built on a small lot within an expanding residential area. The conditions of the project site are interpreted by discordance and none of the façades overlook outside the perimeter.
In the typological and stylistic multitude of the context, the volume of a rectangular plan oriented parallel to the main road, reduces the mute relationship with the outside to blocks.
The anthracite concrete box, raised a meter and a half off the ground, can be entered only one way: the entrance, helped also by a slight fold of the glass wall that divides the porch.
Outside, the only materials that characterize the building are concrete and glass, to which the diaphragm is delegated, not only between inside and outside, but also between the two different interiors of the house and of the porch.
The basic rectangle is juxtaposed by the pool rectangle of equal size, the only element not contained in the box.
Architect In Charge: Matteo Casari, Valentina Giovanzani
Design Team: Silvia Previtali, Raffaele Rota
Area: 350 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Andrea Martiradonna
