designyougo architects and designers
Casa Locarno
Winner of the Green Good Design Award 2011
Casa Locarno
its integration into the dramatic setting. Design and Materials Opening the building up to the valley Winner of the Green Good Design™ Award 2011 does not just happen on the outside - the The larch wood Skyframe, fascia and rising roof allows larger room heights to Attica panels dominate the appearance the front . Together with the full-height of the building, giving it a warm and Location windows, the bedrooms embrace the natural general appearance. The larch abundant nature. The site for this five bedroom house is wood has been left untreated and will Sus located in Solduno, an old village with weather naturally. The detailing of the traditional stone clad roofs, close to Skyframe includes inclined top surfaces to The hou Organisation of the building Locarno, Switzerland. ensure good water drainage. The façade insulated The amazing setting between the panels in between are either glass or fibre The different levels of the building all convention mountains and the lake gives the site a reinforced concrete panels, the latter in focus on the panoramic views they get. Instead, ther clear orientation with the main views three shades of blue, complementing The living room and kitchen open up on the roof, pr towards Ascona and the lake “Lago the reflections of the windows and to the west terrace which offers a view low temperatur Maggiore” to the front, and the steep harmonizing nicely in dusk lighting. of the lake and gets the afternoon and and most of the y mountains to the back. The interior design takes up external evening sun. The living room includes a During the cold and materials with oak wood flooring and is separate space for the grand piano. additional energy is g else kept simple with a modern look and The entrance to the house offers good a heat exchange incorp Concept feel. The ground floor features full length orientation with views to the kitchen, into fireplace. Energy from th bespoke corridor furniture, starting as the living room and up the stair. A large is being preserved in a 400 The house opens itself up towards the bookshelf and cupboards and integrating west-facing window upstairs even guides in the basement. valley, embracing the great panorama, the kitchen at the other end. some evening sunlight into the entrance Roof and walls have been insu while the backside of the house is dug With its full height glass balustrade and area. A Pantry, guest room and bathroom 400mm inside and even the bas into the mountain. The desire to add solid oak steps, the slender steel frame have been located towards the back of been wrapped in a layer of insula sufficient external shading to the facades stair is more a light object between the ground floor level. lead to a large cantilever of the roof kitchen and the entrance. The upper floor consists of four bed and the Skyframe. The Skyframe will Prefabrication The fireplace – part of the sustainability rooms and two bath rooms, a south eventually be filled in with ranking wine concept - is framed with a full-height slab facing balcony and the balcony above the and other plants as well as textile sun Due to limited accessibility of the site, of local granite, with the grain and texture entrance. There is a provision for a future shading elements. Using plants offers the walls and ceilings were prefabricated running seamlessly across its three panels. external stair leading up to a roof terrace. benefit of increased day lighting levels and flown on site by helicopter. A timber Bespoke internal doors are full height during wintertime. frame construction has been chosen to and flush with the adjacent walls. Terrace Both the roof cantilever and the Skyframe allow large parts within the weight limits and entrance doors have been selected create a dynamic impression, lifting of the helicopter. with minimal thresholds. The terraces the house off the ground, shaping the and balconies maintain the indoor floor perception of the building and furthering
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use has been designed (and d) to low energy standards and no nal heating has been installed. re are only solar collectors roviding energy for the re under floor heating year also for hot water. d cloudy winter days, generated through porated in the he solar collectors 00L water tank
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level. Some windows are frame-less fixed glazing, including a glass corner solution in the dining area, creating a sense of proximity with the nicely landscaped garden.
Visual Working Method designyougo employs a visual working method where the architects develop their proposals based on realistic 3D representations, like shown to the left. Our architectural designs are therefore always embracing materials, lighting concept, views and the sequence of spaces from the very beginning. The clients benefit in two ways - our designs are very detailed and concise from day one, and presented in a way that allows the client to really appreciate the design intent. So if our ideas don’t match with yours, we will be able to resolve this in an early concept stage.
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Fotografie des Bauherren
Prefabrication Due to limited accessibility of the site, walls and ceilings were prefabricated and flown on site by helicopter. A timber frame construction has been chosen to allow large parts within the weight limits of the helicopter.
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dF loo r Kitchen
Entrance
Terrasse
Living Room
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Guest Bedroom
Pantry
Flo or Double Bedroom
Double Bedroom Master Bedroom
Fir st
Double Bedroom
De tai ls Glass Balustrade Our proposal to create an open and light entrenched entrance could be created by designing a very slender steel stair with a full-height glass balustrade. Materials are butt-jointed and flush where possible.
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Solar Collectors
External Shading (Skyframe)
Basement
Full-height Windows Our desire to create a seamless indoor / outdoor experience could be realised with fixed glazing, where window frame is fully concealed by the window reveal and facade panels.
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Bespoke Furniture The back of the ground floor corridor has been designed as one continious peace of furniture, starting as a wardrobe and inegrating the kitchen at the other end. The working top of the kitchen block matches the oak flooring and completes the furnitture design.
Ca sa Loc arn
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Ca sa Loc arn
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kei t alti g The house has been designed (and insulated) to low energy standards and no conventional heating has been installed. Instead, there are only solar collectors on the roof, providing energy for the low temperature under floor heating and most of the year also for hot water. During the cold and cloudy winter days, additional energy is generated through a heat exchange incorporated in the fireplace. Energy from the solar collectors is being preserved in a 4000L water tank in the basement. Roof and walls have been insulated up to 400 mm inside and even the basement has been wrapped in a layer of insulation.
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Sustainability
designyougo
Sebastian Gmelin
Mathis Malchow
Dipl. Ing. Architect (AK Berlin GER, ARB, UK) Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture, ETH Sebastian is specialised in complex geometries. After his master course at the ETH in Zurich he was Associate at Foster + Partners and was involved in the design of projects like ‘New Holland’ in St. Petersburg, ‘Queen Alia Airport’ in Jordan and ‘South Beach’ in Singapore. He was also a member of the Specialist Modelling Group at Foster + Partners. Sebastian is working on his PhD and teaches in Denmark at the Aarhus School of Architecture.
Dipl. Ing Architect (AK Berlin GER, ARB, UK)
Mathis can draw upon many years of experience as an architect. He was Associate Partner at Foster + Partners, and was involved in the design of many key projects, including ‘Crystal Island’ in Moscow, ‘New Holland’ in St. Petersburg and ‘South Beach’ in Singapore.
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Mathis Malchow and Sebastian Gmelin know each other from working together at Foster+Partners in London. In 2009 they set up designyougo together. designyougo is an award winning architectural practice with a focus on design and sustainability.
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