ast031 casa delle guide alpine

ASthought

project: architect:

Casa delle Guide Alpine / Roberto & act_romegialli

#31

book editor:

Inês Feio

ASthought

project: architect:

Casa delle Guide Alpine / Roberto & act_romegialli

#31

AsThoughtarchitecture from concept to built form

Our main goal is to describe the design process, the architectural solutions and the detailing choices of a built work in a chronological order. The dream – that is also the ambition – is to tune at the best the structure of this on-line manual and to spread around its template in order to amplify the power of collecting and publishing in a such huge way that in a few years we could arrive at the largest open source and most browsed utility for architectural students not only in Europe.

series editors:Gennaro PostiglioneMaddalena Scarzellaresearch team in Interiors @ Politecnico di Milano////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

ASthought architecture from concept to built form

http://asthought.polimi-cooperation.org

follow https://twitter.com/ASthought1 http://vimeo.com/asthought http://www.issuu.com/asthought

book editor:

Inês Feio

All rights reserved © All Authors All drawings © act_romegialliAll pictures © All Authorsthis volume has no commercial purposes but only educational goals

Milan 2013

Content

Work facts p. 5

Project description p. 6

Commission p. 10

Draft proposals p. 14

Final proposal p. 22

Construction drawings p. 36

Building site p. 44

Photo gallery exteriors p. 48

Photo gallery interiors p. 56

Photo gallery surroundings p. 76

Systems p. 84

Serving spaces p. 94

Selected essay p. 102

Appendix p. 125

office presentation p. 126

book editor presentation p. 128

6 ASthought

east facade © filippo simonetti 2000

Work facts

7Casa delle guide Alpine - Roberto Romegialli/act_romegialli

Project: Casa delle Guide Alpine

Address: Via Moss 1, Cataeggio, 23010 Val Masino, Sondrio, Italy

Type: Multipurpose center

Planned: 1989

Built: 1996-2000

Client: Comunità Montana della Valtellina

Architect: act_romegialli / Roberto Romegialli

Responsible partner: Roberto Romegialli

Collaborator: Gianmatteo Romegialli, Angela Maria Romegialli, Erika Gaggia, Ada Ghinato and Alessandro

Finozzi

Structural engineer: Giuliano Giaggia

Awards: IFAA “Institut fur Alpine Architektur” 2006

References: http://asthought.polimi-cooperation.org/tag/ines-feio/

Technical Characteristic: Stone wall of the quarry made using the traditional technique “rasapietra.”

Project description: Multipurpose center

History of Commission:

Main architectural ideas:

When we arrived to the site we noticed that it was a very compromising place of caves where

people went to get stones to build their houses but no longer in operation. The portion of land it

was huge and had a big lawn near the river. The customer, of course, told us to build in the middle

of the field, near the river, but for us this is a very special space, so we didn’t want to build here

and destroy this piece of land. Instead of this, we thought it would be more interesting to use

these compromising caves to construct the building, with the aim of giving them a new way of life.

As such, this is the reason we built it in the shape of two arms.

We wanted to construct the building with two arms creating an L, which embraced the two exist-

ing large stones and creating an interior courtyard protected by two natural and two artificial arms.

We wanted to work the feeling of protection, so we decided to do two massive walls with few

windows outside and the other facades open to this courtyard.

Project description


The shelter is attested in the quarry and consists of two perpendicular volumes to each other creating a

shape of an “L” to define an enclosed space to the big rocks in the quarry.

The organization of the plan is specified then a geometrically controlled system that is offset inside the

quarry, the uneven performance of the rocks, defining a large courtyard covered in turf.

Much attention is devoted to sections of the factory buildings, to be able to obtain, with very different

functional contents, a horizon line straight and unique.

The mass of natural stones from the quarry thus emerges from the horizon linear building.

The volume is characterized by very compact external fronts as opposed to those of the inner courtyard,

transparent with wood frame giving a more strictly private characteristics.

The use of masonry “rasapietra” (referring to local construction methods) gives to the wall a strong sense

of rootedness to place, and declares its functional unit / representative.

Technological intervention arises in an idea of continuity with the project of the place (stone, rasapietra,

wood), not giving up on modern techniques and materials (precast, reinforced concrete in sight) where

the forced use of traditional materials would be forced and false.

Only an opening to the north and two sliding doors and windows to the west are painted white, to

remind frames and splays of many openings historic rural buildings in Valtellina.

by act_romegialli

10 ASthought

view from canteen to the courtyard © filippo simonetti 2000

Commission


caves © act_romegialli 1996

14 ASthought

This pages

caves © act_romegialli 1996


images

Draft proposals

main concept © act_romegialli 1989


18 ASthought

This page, above

draft of relation between rocks, building and river © act_romegialli 1989

Right

draft of massive exterior walls and glass interior walls © act_romegialli 1989

Right

draft of the building horizon line in contrast with the irregular natural rocks © act_romegialli 1989

Next spread

building perspective draft © act_romegialli 1989

ASthought

22 ASthought

Final proposal


implantation plan

26 ASthought

This page, above

underground floor © act_romegialli 1989

Right

ground floor © act_romegialli 1989

28 ASthought

This page, above

first floor © act_romegialli 1989

Right

second floor © act_romegialli 1989

30 ASthought

Right

north, south, west and east facade © act_romegialli 1989

32 ASthought

34 ASthought

Pages 30-31

gym and courtyard section

This page, above

dorms, rooms, canteen and storage section © act_romegialli 1989

Right

panoramic ceiling, room, canteen and exterior stairs view © inês feio 2012

36 ASthought

This page, above

gym section © act_romegialli 1989

Right

gym view © filippo simonetti 2000

Construction drawings


dorm window section © act_romegialli 1989

40 ASthought

This page, left

gym small windows section © act_romegialli 1989

This page, right

gym small windows © inês feio 2012


This page, left

bedroom window section © act_romegialli 1989

This page, right

bedroom window © inês feio 2012

42 ASthought

This page, above

gym structure section © act_romegialli 1989

Right

gym structure © inês feio 2012

Building site


aerial view © act_romegialli 1999

46 ASthought

Right

north facade © act_ rasapietra romegialli 1999

48 ASthought

This pages

Wall construction detail of rasapietra technique © act_ rasapietra romegialli 1999

Photo gallery exteriors


east facade © inês feio

52 ASthought

stairs to the main entrance © inês feio 2012


living room chimney © inês feio 2012

library window © inês feio 2012

54 ASthought

This page, above

south facade © inês feio 2012

Right

courtyard © inês feio 2012

56 ASthought

This page, above

north and west facades © inês feio 2012

Right, above

north facade © inês feio 2012

Right, below

west facade © inês feio 2012

Photo gallery interiors


living room view from the rooms corridor © inês feio 2012

60 ASthought

living room © inês feio 2012

62 ASthought

This page, above

living room view from the rooms corridor © inês feio 2012

Right

living room ceiling © inês feio 2012

64 ASthought

This pages

living room © inês feio 2012

66 ASthought

Right

rooms corridor, library and classroom © inês feio 2012

68 ASthought

This page, above

bedroom © inês feio 2012

Right

bedroom view © inês feio 2012

70 ASthought

Right

reception and living room stairs ceiling © inês feio 2012

72 ASthought

Right, above

canteen with view to the courtyard © inês feio 2012

Right, below

building coordinates on bar © inês feio 2012

74 ASthought

reception © inês feio 2012

76 ASthought


This page, above

gym © inês feio 2012

Left

north gym windowa © inês feio 2012

Photo gallery surroundings


view from the courtyard to north and west © inês feio 2012

80 ASthought

82 ASthought

Pages 78-79

alpes north view © inês feio 2012

Right

valmasino tradicional houses © inês feio 2012

84 ASthought

Right

east view © inês feio 2012

Systems


canteen chimney © inês feio 2012

88 ASthought

This page, above

living room chimney interior © inês feio 2012

Right

living room chimney exterior © inês feio 2012

90 ASthought

Right

canteen chimney © inês feio 2012

92 ASthought

Right

living room conditioning © inês feio 2012

reception and stairs lights © inês feio 2012

Page 93

reception foyer and rooms corridor lights © inês feio 2012

94 ASthought

96 ASthought

Serving spaces


stairs to the basement © inês feio 2012

Selected essay

106 ASthought

Right

Quaderni di cultura alpina / Priuli & Verlucca, editor

Architettura Moderna nelle Alpi italiane - dagli anni sessanta alla fine del XX secolo

by Luciano Bolzoni


CASA DELLE GUIDE – CENTRO POLIZUNZIONALE DELLA MONTAGNA RIFUGIO ESCURSIONISTICO, VALMASINO, SONDRIO

Comune: Valmasino Località: Filorera Provincia: Sondrio Altezza: Sul livello del mare: m 841 Progettisti: Gianmatteo e Roberto Romegialli Anni di progettazione: 1994-1997 Anni di realizzazione: 1997-1999

Il progetto della Casa delle Guide in Valmasino parte dall’accettazione e dall’interpretazione delle peculiarità ambientali del territorio, prese come assunti imprescindibili nell’esercizio compositivo. Le estreme condizioni del contorno – una vecchia cava dismessa, il torrente Masino, le caratteristiche morfologiche della valle divengono i fondamenti dello stesso disegno di costruzioni dell’edificio che si viene a connotare come un’architettura volutamente contraddistinta da un segno preciso, totalmente avulso da memorie costruttive vernacolari; la stessa forma del corpo di fabbrica, che individua due unità edilizie collocate ortogonalmente tra loro, tende a fungere da agente regolatore del terreno circostante mediante l’individuazione di un impianto architettonico fortemente voluto. La stessa varietà funzionale prevista all’interno del corpo che ospita molteplici destinazioni d’uso, tutte riferite alla disciplina alpinista e sportiva (biblioteca, palestra di roccia, locali per il fitness, alloggi e camerate), è in qualche modo generatrice della forma finale. L’uso della murata in rasapietra, che si riferisce alle modalità costruttive locali, conferisce al solido edilizio un forte senso di radicamento materiale al luogo.

Bibliografia essenziale: Irace F., La Casa delle guide, «Abitare», n.404, 2001.

304

305

306

307

304. Vista del complesso (Foto di Filippo Simonetti)

305. La corte interna (Foto di Filippo Simonetti)

306. Il fronte Sud (Foto di Filippo Simonetti)

307. La reception (foto di Filippo Simonetti)

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Pages 107-111

Abitare, edition n.404, march 2012


GIANMATTEO E ROBERTO ROMEGIALLI IN VALMASINO, SONDRIO L A C A S A D E L L E G U I D E

A new mountain hostel and climbing school creates a solid stone barrier against the mountain skyline but stands open around a grassy internal courtyard.

Architect Gianmatto and Roberto Romegialli with A. Feinozzi and A. Ghinato (initial design)

Photo Filippo Simonetti

Mountain Hostel. Set in a stark, primeval landscape that is both exhilarating and problem-fraught, in the sense that the architects could easily have been temped by back-to-the-soil, imitation of the local vernacular, the recently-built mountain hostel in Valmasino emerges as an object lesson in how “mountain architecture” can and should be done. The surrounding landscape is indeed one of extremes – a disused quarry whose massive granite slabs are now used to practice rock-climbing, a mountain torrent (the Masino) from which the valley gets its name, a rocky plateau, and vast meadows – yet this hostel with an adjoining climbing school belong naturally to the “cultural” branch of modern mountain architecture which acknowledges that such regions are made not only of valleys and mountains, but also of chalets, power stations, dams and pylons. In other words, mountain scenery is seen not as some impossible earthly Paradise or untilled Arcadia, but a rural extension of cultivated gardens furrowed by human artifice and need. As imperious as a fortress wall, the new building on the edge of the valley marks the start of a new settlement designed to rehabilitate the environmental damage wrought by decades of stone extraction in the former quarry. Two perpendicular blocks form a barrier facing the mountain peaks on the outside, but overlook a more domestic and secluded courtyard on the inside, so that the solid concrete and polished stone curtain wall of the main volume containing the gym and hall acts as a bulwark preventing any further expansion of Filorera, the village below. As such, it functions as a threshold between the predictable routine of human civilization and the unpredictable sublimity of Sasso Remenno and Alpine crags. Thus, the complex has a dual identity – a hard stony exterior furrowed by regular, compact fenestration sculpted

continued on page 88

Top left: the east front parallel to the Masino mountain torrent. Right: view of the complex showing the two L-shaped blocks enclosed by solid concrete and polished stone walls. Opposite page: detail of the south front. 85

110 ASthought

86

•The south front of the block set crosswise to the valley, containing the communal spaces (reception, lounge and gym).

LA CASA DELLE GUIDE

from page 85


LA CASA DELLE GUIDE

88

deep into the facades in the traditional mountain way, and a more withdrawn interior with long rows of double wooden loggias creating what the architects cal a “substantial-looking courtyard separating the building from the surroundings countryside”. So there is no striving for architectural affect, and no suggestion of organic fluidity either. On the contrary, there is a certain geometrical hardness in the combination of traditional local vernacular and the present-day materials and building techniques (prefabrication, raw reinforced concrete) used for structural and functional reasons. And thought it effortlessly takes its place in the Italian “mountain” tradition laid down by Albini, Mollino, Ponti and Gabetti, the Valmasino complex gives the most convincing demonstra-

continued on page 92

from page 85

Above: the east front. Opposite page: detail of the east front with the glazed entrance slit which separates the more welcoming hospitality block (right) from the block containing communal services.

first-floor plan second-floor plan

cross section through gym

1. Entrance 2. bar 3. canteen 4. reception 5. double-height gym 6. internal courtyard 7. lounge 8. classroom 9. caretaker’s quarters 10. bedrooms 11. dormitories 12. changing-room 13. sauna 14. storage 15. garage 16. mountain rescue

ground-floor plan basement plan

112 ASthought

90

The building opens completely onto the grassy internal courtyard. The residence block (left) has a double loggia.

LA CASA DELLE GUIDE


tion of its architectural excellence in the quality of its interiors. “A half-way house where you enter as an ordinary person and come out a a skier,” was how Carlo Molino describe his never-built “Centro Sportivo Quota 2000” in Valtournenche. Here, in Valmasino, neat, minimally-conceived, elegantly-Spantan halls, lounges and bedrooms speak the language of a fully-evolved and now widely-adopted interior design philosophy that has no need of “Alpine” character to make its point. Introverted and defensive behind massive walls, the modern interiors have an unself-conscious yet not unsophisticated domesticity that contrasts telling with the views through the large courtyard windows of “genuine” countryside, primeval rock and massed boulders around the lawn. F.I.

from page 88

Left, top to bottom: the gym with its climbing wall; view from the gym towards the courtyard; the skylight over the stairs to the lounge. Right, top to bottom: views from either end of the lounge with its fireplace and triangular skylight; a meeting area between the bedrooms and lounge. Opposite page: detail of the reception area, which on the east front receives daylight from small square windows.

114 ASthought

Stone, water and wood are the three materials which have always characterized mountains regions. Wood has become more popular then stone as a building material in the past decades because of its versatility: transport and processing are easier, it has a wider range of uses, costs are lower, it does not weigh as much and the visible impact on the environment is less obvious. Popular perception that wood is more natural, warmer and more “human” than other building materials is another factor to add to these benefits. In this light, Casa Alpina delle Guide, or Alpine Guides’ House, might well be seen as an anachronism. But Valmasino valley, where this building is located, is famous with mountaineers and rock-climbers. To the north of Valtlin, the narrow valley climbs steeply and then opens out to become a natural training area. The famous granite rock-faces surrounding the valley floor are, for instance, Parete del Badile, Parete del Disgrazia and Parete del Cengalo. In this case, stone represents architecture’s empathy with the area’s identity and economy and, at the same time, stone is a vital and primal substance which cannot simply be cast aside.

On arrival, Casa Alpina first strikes you as being like a small, stone fortress because of its position on high ground and its slightly slanting walls, one of which has no windows. It could well be taken for a church although it is actually a school. The vertical slits in the façade and one or other of the cross motifs lead us to believe that is must be a half-military, half-sacred building. On the one hand, it reminds us of Piero Portaluppi’s dams and hydro-electric generating stations and their unfathomable specific gravity; on the other you cannot fail to see similarities to Alvar Aalto’s Town Hall at Säynätsalo.

Gianmatteo Romegialli, Roberto Romegialli

Alpine Guide House

This pages

NBA/ACA/NAA, 2006 / Birkhauser Verlag, editor

by Christoph Mayr Fingerle


But Casa Alpina is, first and foremost, a “palestra”, a climbing school and also an alpine refuge. Casa Alpina is, first and foremost, a “palestra”, a climbing school and also an alpine refuge. Casa Alpina addresses the topic “rock face” in diverse ways through the climbing courses held here. The two-facets of the mountaineering spirit – toughness and fragility, muscle and delicate flexibility, autonomy and responsibility to the group – seem to be intrinsic in the actual substance of the whole undertaking. We were really only aware of this dichotomy after entering the little fortress and seeing and experiencing its interior, thereby discovering how to interpret its layout. Both wings of the building are actually supporting walls: the considerably higher floor level inside the complex means the facades take on somewhat more familiar proportions. The bastion is superseded by a green courtyard where climbers can stretch out and relax when their hands are painful and all they want to do is rest. The school’s windows, the restaurant, the dormitories and the stairs all look out on to this courtyard and mountains provide the background setting. A massive cliff face seems to be considering whether to turn the L-shaped complex into a closed courtyard: the scenery rising up around the building transforms it into a desirable abject (which is there to be climbed). The roofs slant down towards the interior, emphasizing the contrast between interior and exterior dimensions. The climbing school unites the idea of artificial walls with the functional concept of a cavernous raw concrete terrain. Some of the columns in the restaurant are logs, and the windows are set at different levels to encourage us to look and observe properly, just like when you climb. Unfortunately, we have to stay that the architects were unable to make a thorough check of all of the interior rooms and alterations made after the building work was completed.

116 ASthought

Page 112-117

L’architettura di pietra, antichi e nuovi magisteri costrutivi, 2004 / Lucense alinea, editor

by Alfonso Acocella


356

357

Casa delle Guide Alpine in Valmasino

di Gianmatteo e Roberto Romegialli

(1997-1999)

La valle del torrente Masino, con le sue imponenti placche granitiche affioran-ti dai rilievi alpini, à riconosciuta a livello europeo come una delle “palestre” più idonee alla pratica dell’alpinismo estremo. La realizzazione di un centro polifunziona-le della montagna con annesso un rifugio per gli escursionisti costituisce l’occasio-ne di un’esperienza progettuale tesa a riproporre un rapporto stringente con il contesto. In un paesaggio fatto di prati, di massi affioranti e di cave dismesse, do-minato dalle balze del Sasso Remenno e lambito dal torrente, la casa delle guide si pone come «un segno preciso, estraneo

a mimesi storicistico-vernacolari, capace di dichiararsi e delineare (…) due ambiti di appartenenza, un “prima” e un “dopo”, vallo ideale di demarcazione tra diver-se condizioni naturali e insediative.» [40] I due bracci perpendicolari in cui si or-ganizza l’edificio generano un impianto a squadra allineato con un ponte roma-nico in pietra che attraversa il Masino. Tra la casa e le pendici dei monti retro-stanti una corte semiaperta trattata a manto erboso assume il significato di “vuoto di rispetto” che separa il manu-fatto dall’identità naturalistica del luogo. Il perentorio volume dell’opera architetto-

nica è definito da solidi muri realizzati con scampoli di granito ghiandone delle cave locali; la pietra a spacco, posta in opera su abbondanti letti di malta, è rifinita a “rasa pietra”, secondo una tecnica della valle che prevede la rasatura dei giunti, “ti-rati”, con gli utensili del muratore, a rico-prire parzialmente li irregolarità e le aspe-rità perimetrali dei massi litici impiegati. Si tratta di un procedimento che protegge la superficie esterna della compagine mura-ria dall’infiltrazione dell’acqua, conferen-dole una intonazione materica particolare da cui emerge, quasi in filigrana, il reticolo dei giunti, di un grigio più chiaro rispetto al

356 | Settore angolare della costruzione con la grande canna fumaria.

357 | veduta dell’edificio nel contesto ambientale. 358 | Veduta della Valmasino.

359 | Le tradizionali case in pietra del luogo.

118 ASthought

plumbeo colore del ghiandone. L’ado-zione dell’opera muraria rustica esprime, cosi, un forte radicamento materiale e culturale al luogo che, tuttavia, non impe-disce ai progettisti di ricercare una inedita scrittura compositiva per rispondere alle esigenze costruttive e funzionali dell’oggi. Le muratore sono a doppio paramento

con coibentazione interposta; un setto interno portante di calcestruzzo arma-to, dello spessore di 20 centimetri, si accosta allo strato litico esterno spesso circa 30 centimetri. Blocchi monolitici di granito, estremamente regolarizzati con trattamento di superficie a “pianosega” costituiscono, secondo tradizione, gli

architravi delle aperture; il calcestruzzo armato a vista interviene, invece, a risol-vere, laddove l’uso dei materiali litici sa-rebbe forzato, le solette su grandi luci e il vano scala cilindrico esibito in facciata. Con la saldezza di un baluardo costruito tra l’estendersi discontinuo del paese di Filorera e la topografia frammentata del

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359


sito estrattivo abbandonato, l’edificio dei Romegialli parla un linguaggio es-senziale fatto di murature massicce ed omogenee, appena articolate da poche “speronatore” e dal volume ag-gettante di una grande canna fumaria. Nel corpo che racchiude la pale-stra, lo spessore dell’alzato murario

si rastrema verso la sommità; la con-tinuità della materia litica è qui dise-gnata “graficamente” da un minuto pun-teggiato regolare di trafori quadrati quasi ad evocare i paramenti a scarpa e le bu-che pontaie di antiche cortina difensive. Al carattere introverso dei fronti, incisi da piccoli fori o scavati in profondità da rare

ed eleganti finestre, si contrappone l’aper-tura dei prospetti sulla corte interna, risolti con un impaginato di logge in legno e di ampie vetrate che dialogano con il verde del prato e con la stratigrafia naturale del-la roccia grezza della cava sullo sfondo. [40] Gianmatteo e Roberto Romegialli, Relazione di progetto (dattiloscritto inedito), s.d., p. 2.

371

372

373 374 375

01 copertura in lastre aggraffate di zinco-titanico 02 soletta in cls armato 03 trave di sostegno soletta in cls armato 04 finestra 05 cappellotto in cls 06 blocchi di granito ghiadone della valmasino con finitura a “spacco”, modalità di posa a “rasapietra” 07 isolamento termico e barriera al vapore 08 intercapedine areata 09 trave in c.a. 10 struttura in c.a. 11 piastrella in vetrocemento dim. 30x30 cm 12 riempimento in cls

371 | Sezione trasversale del corpo di fabbrica che ospita la palestra. 372 | Dettaglio della sezione muraria. 373 | I blocchi di granito prima della messa in opera. 374 | Dettaglio angolare dell’apparecchia-tura muraria. 375 | Il paramento litico rifinito “a rasapietra”.

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Page 119-121

New stone architecture in Italy, 2002 / Faenza editrice, editor

by Vincenzo Pavan


Mountain Hostel, Valmasino, Sondrio

Ginamatteo Romegialle (Milano, 1961) graduated in 1988 from the Milan Politecnico. He has draw up town plans and projects for public and private buildings, interested in studies for minimizing the environmental impact of territorial infrastructures. He has collaborated with many classes at the Milan Politecnico. He has held reviews in Canberra (Australia) and conferences in Grenoble (France) on the theme of building in the Alpine environment. In 1999 he was invited to European Consultation for the 50th anniversary of the VII CIAM in Bergamo 1949. In 2002, in collaboration with Castelletti and Rabbiosi, he won the “Maestri Comacini Architecture Award”. His father Roberto (Morbegno, 1928) graduated from the Milan Politecnico in 1959. In his career he has created town plans and performed recuperation projects, environmental impact surveys and many public and private buildings and constructions. They collaborated to win the In/Arch (1991), InArch/Domus (1996) and the Premio Anpel (1994) Italian architectural awards.

Address: abandoned quarry di Filorera, Valmasino, Sondrio/Filorera Client: Comunità Montana Valtellina di Morbegno – Zona n. 24 Design period: 1993-1996 Construction period: 1996-2000 Architects: Gianmatteo e Roberto Romegialli Design team: A.Finozzi, A.Ghinato Interiors: Gianmatteo e Angela M. Romegiallo Consultants: R. Romegialli (Works manager) G. Giaggia (Structural engineer) C. Giarba (Mechanical and electrical Systems – Climate Control) General contractor: Cannizzo geom.. Carmelo, San Piero Patti, Messina Foreman: Vanini Claudio, Fusine, Sondrio Stone materials employed: Exteriors: Ghiandone Valmasino Granite and dark serizzo Interiors: Ghiandone Valmasino Granite Stone supplies: Rossi Albino & C. snc, Valmasino, Sondrio Stone installers: Cannizzo geom.. Carmelo, San Piero Patti, Messina

Gianmatteo e Roberto Romegialli

122 ASthought

The Romegiallis’s design for the Valmasino alpine school, excursion center and hostel is based on recognizing and interpreting the physical-environmental characteristics of the site. The building has taken on a dialectic relationship with the components of the surrounding landscape. It stands out for its precise intention of becoming a decided «landmark» for the entire valley. The recognized identify the building and the clear form that characterizes it enter into a direct relationship with the extreme geographic conditions of its surroundings: the abandoned quarry which is in the center of gravity of the valley, the town of Filorera down below, the Masino creek (here crossed by an ancient medieval bridge) and the Sasso Romenno. The alpine hut generates a clear sign inside the quarry, placed as a virtual limit to the discontinuous expansion of the town of Filorera and also acting as a hub able to become, in the future, a buttress for a more complex system of environmental and territorial management and control. The building is composed of two perpendicular arms that generate an L shape and define a closed space towards the rocks. This «courtyard buffer» is left in a natural grass-covered state with the object of emphasizing the relationships that exist between rocks, landscape and building. Great attention has been dedicated to the cross-sections of the buildings in order to achieve a single straight horizon: the natural mass of the quarry stones emerges from the straight artificial horizon of the building and becomes a true barrier of stone against the profile of the mountains.

south front


The main entryway is placed at the tangent between the two arms of the structure and is in line with the bridge over the stream. The building body crosswise to the valley contains community spaces (reception, commons, gymnasium, etc.). This can be recognized from the outside by a pointedly compact wall made using a «rasapietra» structure that gives the wall a strong sense of belonging to the site and declares its own functional-symbolic unity. This wall is opposed by the internal façade towards the court which is transparent and open towards the landscape. The arm parallel to the stream, which contains hostel structures (kitchen, dining area, dormitories, etc.), shows more domestic characteristics. These come from the use of materials such as exposed wood and the presence of large windows. The corresponding inner courtyard is characterized by the presence of large wooden balconies. The “rasapietra” wall – the term refers to a local building tradition – was made with two types of stone: Ghiandone Valmasino granite and dark Serizzo. The wall was made by stabilizing the stone, formed of various size ashlars bonded together by a layer of mortar, using steel brackets that anchor it to the reinforced wall behind, creating a single body. Ghiandole Valmasino Granite and dark Serizzo are both rocks typical of Valmasino: the first is characterized by the presence of large light-colored “nuts” that define the overall light gray color of the stone; the second has a more compact texture and is characterized by rather minute flecks of black that create a dark gray background. These materials are traditionally used for mountain structures in the area between Lombardy and Piedmont.

View of the grassy internal court View from the gym interior towards the court

124 ASthought

Right

Hochparterre, new alpine architecture, 2006

appendix

128 ASthought

office presentation


The act_romegialli office was founded in 1994 by the architects Gianmatteo and Angela Maria Romegial-

li. In 1997 Erika Gaggia VH begins to collaborate in the studio becoming the head of the interior study,

also dealing with restructuring, graphics and layouts.

Gianmatteo Romegialli was born in Milan in 1961, he graduated in 1988 with a mark of 100/100 with

laude in architecture at the Milan Polytechnic. From 1988 to 1989 he worked with the architectural firm

Crotti-Invernizzi, Milan. Since 1989 he free activity; drafted urban plans and projects of public and private

buildings.He has worked for several years with the Polytechnic of Milan in courses and workshops in

the final summary for undergraduates respectively with prof. F.Zanni and S. Crotti. Nel 2002 è nominato

per l’A.A. 2002-2003 professore presso il Politecnico di Milano - Prima Facoltà di Architettura Milano

Leonardo nel corso di Laboratorio Progettazione Architettonica I.

Angela Maria Romegialli was born in Milan in 1965, he graduated in 1991 with a mark of 100/100 in

architecture at the Milan Polytechnic. From 1991 to 1993 he collaborated with the architectural firm

Crotti-Invernizzi, Milan and Arch. Finozzi of Milan.

Erika Gaggia VH was born in Veenendaal in the Netherlands in 1969, he moved to Italy in 1971 and

graduated at the Milan Polytechnic in 1996 with the thesis: “Light module for the management of moun-

tain areas and mountain pastures”, supervisor Prof. Cesira Macchia.

In 1994 the office receive a regional award for the project INARCH bus station in Morbegno SO. In 1996

they were awarded by the national architecture IN / ARCH, ANPEL and INARCH / DOMUS for the design

and construction of a bus station, new post offices and directional. In 2002 they received the “Masters of

Como Architecture Prize” for the accommodation of the market square in Albese con Cassano CO. (in

collaboration with architects and M.Castelletti F.Rabbiosi). In 2003 they win the Prize of Architecture “The

Prince and the Architect” - Fair Milano. For the project won the international competition to calls for the

Redevelopment of the waterfront of Trieste (in collaboration with Prof. Arch Boris Podrecca (Vienna) and

the arch. M.Castelletti). In 2006 they were awarded by IFAA “Alpine Architektur Institut fur” in Bolzano for

the project of the House of Guides in Valmasino (project in coll. Arch with. Roberto Romegialli). Finally, in

2012 they receive an honorable mention by the Piranesi awards.

I’m Inês Feio and I was born in Lisbon, Portugal on April 11, 1991.

I started the studies in architecture in 2009 at Faculdade de Arquitectura de Lisboa.

Now i’m doing erasmus in Milan, attended the first half of master at Politecnico di Milano.

This experience is being very gratifying to me, because it is a way of knowing and living a new city, a new

culture. For me architecture is much more than contemplate the works, to perceive what architecture is,

we have to live it. As such, be living in Milan is being a great experience.

Asthought project allowed me to have a direct contact with the prestigious Italian architect Gianmatteo

Romegialli, giving me a greater knowledge of architecture in the north of Italy. I am grateful to the archi-

tect for all your friendliness and availability to collaborate in this project.

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book editor presentation

Work facts

Project: Casa delle Guide Alpine

Address: Via Moss 1, Cataeggio, 23010 Val Masino, Sondrio, Italy

Type: Multipurpose center

Planned: 1989

Built: 1996-2000

Client: Comunità Montana della Valtellina

Architect: act_romegialli / Roberto Romegialli

Responsible partner: Roberto Romegialli

Collaborator: Gianmatteo Romegialli, Angela Maria Romegialli, Erika Gaggia, Ada Ghinato and Alessandro

Finozzi

Structural engineer: Giuliano Giaggia

Awards: IFAA “Institut fur Alpine Architektur” 2006

References: http://asthought.polimi-cooperation.org/tag/ines-feio/

Technical Characteristic: Stone wall of the quarry made using the traditional technique “rasapietra.”

Project description: Multipurpose center

History of Commission:

Main architectural ideas:

When we arrived to the site we noticed that it was a very compromising place of caves where

people went to get stones to build their houses but no longer in operation. The portion of land it

was huge and had a big lawn near the river. The customer, of course, told us to build in the middle

of the field, near the river, but for us this is a very special space, so we didn’t want to build here

and destroy this piece of land. Instead of this, we thought it would be more interesting to use

these compromising caves to construct the building, with the aim of giving them a new way of life.

As such, this is the reason we built it in the shape of two arms.

We wanted to construct the building with two arms creating an L, which embraced the two exist-

ing large stones and creating an interior courtyard protected by two natural and two artificial arms.

We wanted to work the feeling of protection, so we decided to do two massive walls with few

windows outside and the other facades open to this courtyard.

ast031 casa delle guide alpine

Documents

built work

casa delle guide alpineaddress

roberto romegiallicollaborator

gianmatteo romegialli

drawings act

photo gallery interiors

comasthought1 http

comasthought http