Conversion and Expansion of a Rural House in Moncalvo (AT)

The rural house is located right outside the town centre of Moncalvo, in the district of Asti. Here the landscape of the countryside is characterized by the presence of vineyards and hazelnut groves. The intervention is arranged to obtain the complete renovation of the rural house and its property in order to transform it into a country estate. Working with the existing typology, the project transforms the original layout, readapting the spaces to modern living needs. The inline staircase, characterized by Luserna stone treads, is maintained as the main element for the vertical distribution. The ground floor is entirely occupied by the rooms of the living area, organized by the unmediated transition of the enfilade principle, in order to directly connect the inner space with the courtyard, which acts as the first parterre of the new garden. On the first floor, the original distribution of space is modified by the introduction of a central corridor, which connects the three-story family house, with the guests’ wing built inside the two-story segment. The new spaces for the studies have an independent vertical connection and are realized in the ancient barns, while the third one, almost completely ruined, is transformed into the caretaker’s house by the use of a recognizable distinct language. Regarding the older part of the rural building, the design works with the opposition of two different characters: in the northern elevation, the original composition, made by the use of different materials (i.e. bricks and limestone), is preserved despite the introduction of some new small openings; the southern elevation, entirely plastered, is radically transformed with the introduction of a rhythm of windows framed in relief. The landscaping of the garden is achieved by the repartition of the slope among different levels connected by a new system of paths: the upper level acts as the house’s courtyard creating an expansion of the ground floor space; the middle level is built on a new stone pavement platform, from which the swimming pool is carved into.