Typology: Private dwelling house
Location: Siusi allo Sciliar, Castelrotto (Italy)
Client: Stefan Rier
Architecture: noa* | network of architecture
Interior Design: noa* | network of architecture
Construction start: Spring 2015
Completion: December 2017
Intervention: New construction
Volume: 1.100 m3
Surface area: 220 m2
Text: Laura Ragazzola
Translations: Brain international
Photographs: Alex Filz

This is a look up the exterior wooden accents of the house.

This is a street view of the house that stands out with its rustic wooden exteriors.

This is a street view of the house that has unique intricate patterns on its wooden exteriors.

This is a look at the house that has wooden accents on the upper level and a large stone base at the bottom.

This is a close look at the terrace patio above the stone base of the house with glass doors that lead to the upper floors.

This is a view of the bathroom from the vantage of the bedroom with a large white freestanding bathtub by the glass walls.

This is a view of the rustic bathroom with sea green tiles, freestanding sink and a large bathtub on the far side.

This is a close look at the cooking area with sea green tiles that make the black elements of the stove and vent hood stand out.

This is a view of the kitchen that showcases the large kitchen peninsula with green tiles and dark green curtains on the side.

The peninsula also features a kitchen sink that has a gold tone to it.

Beyond the kitchen is this dining area that has a tall ceiling and dark wooden dining set brightened by the natural lights.

This view showcases the proximity of the kitchen peninsula and the dining area as well as the small decorative tiles on the floor.

This is a close look at the kicthen peninsula that has a stove top in the middle under a large vent hood with a dark tone.

This is a close look at an intricate see through panel that gives the house a unique look.

This is a look at the intricate underside of the stairs.

This is a close look at the bathroom with a white porcelain freestanding bathtub by the glass wall.

On the side of the bathtub is a cushioned day bed brightened by the natural lighting.

This is a close look at the living room just a few steps from the dining and kitchen areas that has a fireplace across from the sofa.

This is a full view of the great room that houses the living, dining and kitchen on a light gray floor.

This is a close look at the long rectangular dining table that is topped with a row of dome pendant lights hanging from a beamed ceiling.

This is a view of the great room with a tall ceiling over the living room area on the far side with a green-tinged sofa.

This is a corner of the house that has curtains and a couple of decorative jars.

This is a close look at the dark kitchen with shelves on the far wall lit with warm lighting.

This is a view of the top floor that has a large glass skylight.

This is a close look at the steam room with a glass door and a glass wall on the far side.

The house also has an outdoor hot tub with a view of the mountains.

This is a close look at the area by the kitchen and the living room that has a large fireplace and a couple of curtains.

This is a view of the kitchen peninsula with a vent hood that has modern lights.

This is a close look at the large fireplace with intricate designs on it.

This is a look up the tall ceiling over the living room that has various pendant lights and railings.

On the side of the intricate staircase is the large bathroom with green tiles and large freestanding sinks.

This is a close look at the vanity that is topped iwth a couple of hanging mirrors with warm lights.

This is a look at the living room downstairs, the indoor balcony with wrought iron railings and the bathroom with green tiles.

This is a close look at the staircase that has an intricate design and black railings.

This is a look down on the living room area from the vantage of the indoor balcony showcasing the massive glass wall and wooden accents.

This is a look down onto the primary bathroom's bathtub from the upper floor.

This is a close look at the decorative lights of the structure by the bathtub and its indoor balcony railing.

This is the walk-in closet with a large vanity and a unique lit storage island.

This is a 3D representation of the house's interior design.

This is a 3D representation of the house's interior design and sections of the house.

This is an illustration of the house's site plan.

This is an illustration of the house's ground level floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's first level floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's second level floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's third level floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's upper ground level floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's elevation with sections of the house.

At the foot of the Sciliar, in the picturesque area of Alpe di Siusi (Bolzano), the spirit of a barn is reborn as a home. The project, realized by noa* (network of architecture), has at its core, the South Tyrolean tradition combined with surprising features internally, resulting from the design of visionary and unexpected spaces. An almost magical ambiance is created, inspired by childhood memories.

Keep tradition in mind, but at the same time move away so as to create an original identity, a new way of living, a different structuring of the domestic space, and to search for inspiration from a childhood passed in the mountains. This, in summary, was the challenge faced by noa* in the project to construct a new home at Siusi in Sciliar, construction to take the place of a deserted house in the center of the village, with the original structure dating back to 1850.

The job, completed in 2017, needs to be understood in its complex and delicate context. We are talking about South Tyrol, and a project executed at a height of 1100 a.s.l. at the foot of Alpe di Siusi, a part of the Dolomites recognized as a Unesco World Heritage due to its outstanding natural beauty. It was therefore extremely important to respect the parameters of the original structure and the urban planning requirements and regulations of the village.

For Stefan Rier, founder, together with Lukas Rungger of the noa* studio, and in this instance ‘his own client’, the project was an opportunity to give a personal footprint to his own property. In this sense there was a move away from the traditional principles of spatial distribution, this being achieved in part by recalling memories of a childhood spent in the mountains.

“We wanted the project to respect the aesthetics and the urban aspects of the village, a village where wooden barns alternate with plaster – fronted houses destined for farmers and the keeping of cattle.”, explains architect Rier.

“With this in mind, we finished the exterior structure with a ‘coating’ in keeping with tradition: a wooden grid on all 4 sides, just as is used for alpine barns. However, as far as the interior is concerned, I decided to leave tradition behind me, and thereby free the design from any preconceived limitations. In this way I was able to look forward…but also a little back in time to the beautiful years of my childhood”.

The outcome of the project is a dwelling, having two aspects that confront each other in their style. The exterior represents the traditional alpine location, splendidly immersed in the local topography, whilst the interior boasts the visionary impulse, the surprise of a space freed from the general scheme of things, almost permeable, osmotic, and certainly innovative.

On the ground floor, there is a common area which spreads out almost in a ‘piazza’ fashion for (habitational)and interactional use: there is a dining table to enjoy with friends, and ample sized kitchen to accommodate more than one cook! The rest of the house develops in a vertical way and instead of the classical room division there are what can be described as ‘hanging boxes’, which are positioned at different heights and interconnected by stairs and walkways – they giving the sensation of walking up a mountain path towards the peak.

The hallways are carefully designed so that, apart from their connecting function, they accommodate other essential areas such as the library and open ‘bathroom’ areas with tubs and showers (only the WC are closed in). The entire structure is conceived in a way that the further one goes up the level of privacy and intimacy is heightened. The highest ‘box’ which features a sauna opens out to the splendid view of the Santner mountain.

The revolutionary distribution of the interior spaces can be noted also from the exterior, and a sort of counterpoint is created with the traditional presentation of the exterior itself. To the north, the two boxes of the bedrooms, finished in bronze, can be seen behind the wooden trellis shell, and as a result, the material contrast is evident, while to the south it is a sauna box that protrudes the glass facade.

It is an architectural concept, both extremely innovative and courageous in nature, but which also has the value of being able to evoke an atmosphere of time past. Viewing the structure from a distance, the larch framework which supports the hanging boxes with its roof supported by 12-meter-high wooden columns seems to be the outline of an old barn.

“Thinking about it, I spent a lot of my childhood playing in barns”, underlines Stefan Rier, “and one of my lasting and favorite memories is of when I used to climb high up in the barns and then throw myself down into the hay. Maybe if I had not had that experience, I would never have come to design this house …”

THE STRUCTURE: A DIALOGUE BETWEEN TIME PAST AND TIME PRESENT

The house mirrors the construction type of the location’s rural buildings. On the stone foundation (10x8m), is a wooden structure in larch on three levels, and which supports the gable roof, typical of the village’s dwellings. A wooden trellis covers the whole house in a shell-like manner, screening the light and heat of the sun in the hotter periods, and as a whole, it is suggestive of the typical structures of alpine barns.

Two boxes, one in bronze and one a glass structure “peak out” from the trellis to the north and south respectively, and so revealing to the exterior that there is something complex to the interior layout. To the south, there is a glass facade and a terrace which opens out to the magnificent view over the landscape of the Dolomites, a view which is dominated by the splendid sight of the Sciliar massif.

THE INTERIOR SPACES: A STATIC CHALLENGE

Inside the house, the distribution of spaces and functions is really unusual. The ‘boxes’ which house the three bedrooms are supported by the wooden beam structure, visible in its totality (12 meters high). The bedrooms are designed as micro-homes, each one having its own particular design, these boxes seem to almost ‘hang’ in the ample volume of the interior (1,100 cubic meters).

One gains access via a staircase and a walkway system, which as well as having a connecting function, accommodate the ‘bathroom’ areas with tubs and showers (only the WC are closed in). On the last floor, a box plays host to the sauna with a panoramic view, extending out of the southern front. Preceding the sauna, there is a book-lounge with an antique majolica stove, which has been taken from the pre-existing building. The library together with a cloakroom area complete the private spaces on the higher levels.

The ground floor is a large open space with three diverse “island” functions: the relaxation area, the dining area, and the kitchen resolved with a large working surface feature in natural brass and decorated on the sides with artisan earthenware tiles.

MATERIALS

As well as incorporating materials having a local tradition – wood and stone – the project introduces others of a more contemporary nature, in some cases recalling a Mediterranean style. The flooring resin, giving uniformity to the ground floor appearance, alternates between baked clay and sea-blue tiles, the same as used for the side covering of the kitchen’s work surface.

The brass gives brilliant warm tones to the furniture details and to the work surface which also incorporates the cooking essentials and sink. The staircase, in finely worked steel, recalls the grates of Arabian tradition, creating a chiaroscuro effect which is extremely unusual for the Alpine environment.

Furniture and Cloth

The furniture has all been produced to design specification, adhering to a zero-kilometer regime. Attention to detail has been scrupulous, as has the search for original solutions from both a formal and functional stance. Cloth chosen plays an intricate game with wood in creating an atmosphere almost theatrical in kind.

Flowing blue drapes act almost as stage curtains in enclosing various spaces and giving different and new perspectives. There has also been a coming together of texture and décor for the box-like bedrooms, this evident even in the wallpaper in blue tones, and so creating a functional soundproofing barrier.

Light

The project strives to make the most of natural light: to the south, the facade is a complete glass construction, the light being filtered by the external wooden grid positioned at 2.5 meters from the principal structure, whilst the jutting out roof shades protect the interior from the extreme heat of the summer months.

On the roof, a skylight opens to the east providing another source of light. To the north there are windows. As for internal lighting, in the very high living area, there are suspension lights to guarantee sufficient light and in particular for the specific functional areas (dining and kitchen areas). Many of the lamps in the house have been design-created.

RECOGNITIONS

In 2018 the Messner House attracted significant attention in the international project field. It received the Iconic Award 2018 – Innovative Architecture from the German Design Council and was included as one of the 5 final projects in WAF – World Architecture Festival 2108 in the House category. It was also included in the “Best of Interior 2018” book.