Chiara and Stefano’s house

Designed by duearchitetti in Varese, the single-family house accomplishes the will to involve all the surroundings beauty, still creating intimacy and concentration inside the house.

duearchitetti, Chiara e Stefano’s house, Varese, 2016

The house is located in a scenically privileged position, high on a hillside in a residential settlement in which a small church also is a part. The dominant view and an excellent south-west exposure are a tangible presence in every space of the house.

Duearchitetti mainteined the original architectural concept, including two levels, in order to adapt the design to the steep slope of the ground. The lower level presents a longitudinal and hypogean development integrated in the hillside as a natural stone terrace. Here you will find bedrooms, studio and fitness zone.

Observation and protection have become the objectives of the project. The will to involve all the outside beauty is coexisting with the opposite approach to create intimacy and concentration inside the house. On one side you have large glass surfaces which as a segmented diaphragm opens the house to the scenic nature, on the other side wooden wings and functional elements that are carrying us into the organism of the house, tracing flowing and continuous passages along the glass surfaces for then to enter the semi-darkness of the inner spaces.

The definition of the organism takes shape from the dynamics of the two individual’s common life, with different rhythms and characters: identifying and understanding each person’s liberty, the areas to divide and the ones to protect. This is transferred into a flowing, continuous space without interruptions. The borders are not defined, the spaces are changing following the rhythmic moments of the day. Big full-height sliding panels are modelling ideal rooms, creating fissures for company, light and curiosity like a dynamic play. Architects didn’t need to “close a door” in order to isolate a room.