Charnela House

The brief began with a constraint: the plot had been divided into two separate parcels, and planning regulations required the buildings to be attached. Our response was to turn that condition into the central idea of the project. The two houses meet at a hinge, touching at an angle along a single edge, then open towards the landscape to create a shared space between the volumes while also giving each dwelling its own private garden frontage.

A covered walkway stitches the whole intervention together, linking all the volumes, including an annex for storage and garage, and culminating in a greenhouse connected to the main house.

The project has been designed with materials chosen for their minimal carbon footprint and low energy impact, in direct response to the priorities set by the client @foresta.collective , whose main goal was to create a place with the lightest possible environmental impact on both the landscape and its users.

On the north façades, the volumes are anchored by local pyroclastic rocks stone masonry walls. The remaining façades are resolved in timber, treated with techniques such as yakisugi, or charred wood. The roof is finished in flat ceramic tiles, in response to local regulations, while the rest of the construction incorporates sustainable materials such as earth, clay, and ecological lime mortars.

The project is currently waiting for construction.