Arch2O.com

Arch2O.com - Architecture & Design Magazine
In this highly preserved Alpine valley, stringent architectural guidelines allow for very little freedom of architectural expression. Everything from building height/width ratio to roof slope, via building material and window sizes are strictly controlled to enforce what is locally perceived as patrimony protection but de facto creating camp architecture, endlessly mimicking traditional mountain homes.
Courtesy of Studio Razavi architecture – Photographs : Olivier Martin-Gambier, Simone Bossi
In order to circumvent these limitations we took great care in analyzing local historical buildings so as to understand what their forms accomplished functionally and how they shaped the local architectural culture. We then integrated this information into our design, simply avoiding all artificial and/or obsolete elements while making sure that the building was entirely code compliant. Courtesy of Studio Razavi architecture – Photographs : Olivier Martin-Gambier, Simone Bossi
How a given building touches the ground (or emerges from) is of course universally important, however in the context of a mountain house in the Alps, this has a specific meaning as it historically was related to stables, wood shop, storage. Therefore we made sure we expressed domesticity with subtlety and incorporated some form of pure functionality that could historically convey meaning. Base is made out of cast in place concrete with form w...