| Participants |
The house is built in a foothill village. The measure and the character of the house come from the environment of a dispersed country built-up area.
The living space of the house is open, defined only by the cladding and is connected with the landscape thanks to the large windows. The essential space is the habitable studio with a gallery in the attic. The wooden shelter along the whole house fulfills the role of a sheltered parking as well as of a living perron with view of the hills.
The house was structurally designed as timber framing with aluminium building panels. The wooden construction is visibled in the interior. The surface of the walls and of the roof is formed by aluminium plates from the outside as well as from the inside. The ground plan of the house is 6 x 18 m with constructional fields in the modulus of 3 m. The construction was settled on the concrete foot blocks that allow the house to levitate above the ground so as to interfere with the landscape in terms of building operations as little as possible.
The title of this project well defines the essence of its architecture. The house floats beautifully in the open fields that surround it, borrowing the typology of the vernacular architecture of the region, without however copying the old architecture. The lightness of the architectural execution radiates an image of quality and simplicity. The steep pitched roof, open interior space and the choice of only a few materials for the construction create an atmosphere of serenity and beauty.
The Jury found that there is a positive and strong cohesion of the needs and life style of the couple who alone inhabit this house, and the work of the architecture. In this aspect, a number of unconventional aspects such as a ladder instead of a step stair, and the complete lack of protective railings in the case of children could well be overlooked.
The house is well lighted with daylight, oriented to both the sun and the views over the beautiful surrounding landscape. However the Jury is critical to the lack of concern in regards to a holistic sustainable design approach as far as solar access, shading, ventilation, insulation and orientation of the large glass surfaces. It is a pity that some very few and in no way architecturally detrimental concerns have not been incorporated in the design. These would have led to a more ecologically sustainable and thermally and lighting comfortable enviroment.
The Jury considers that the architectural and interior design are one and only and not two separate issues, as indeed they should be, and have not distinguished them in the award.