With its typically rough climate and its location at an altitude of 948 metres above sea level, Sterzing (or Vipiteno) is not only the most northerly municipality in Italy, but a town at one of the highest altitudes in the Alps. Located on the southern edge of the urban area, in close proximity to the parish church, a new dwelling block has been erected on the site of what was formerly a verger’s house dating from the 1960s. After purchasing the piece of land, the client decided to demolish the dilapidated existing building and create a new development that would exploit the site area as fully as possible.
The dwelling block that was erected – a solid structure in reinforced concrete with a thermally insulated facade in a composite form of construction – adopts the strong red coloration of the porphyry stone that is widespread in the region. The outer layer of the facade consists of fine-grained, organic rendering that was applied in a coarsely mottled, trowelled technique. The surface texture changes its appearance according to the angle of incidence of the sun. With direct solar radiation, it seems homogeneous, while with a greater angle of inclination of the sun, the facade has a more heterogeneous appearance.
To stress the monolithic character of this multifamily dwelling block, the architects chose the same colour tone for all metal surfaces. The Venetian blinds to the window openings and the loggias are also fixed in the same plane as the facades, so that in a closed state, they help to create a building volume with a homogeneous cubic form.
The dwelling block that was erected – a solid structure in reinforced concrete with a thermally insulated facade in a composite form of construction – adopts the strong red coloration of the porphyry stone that is widespread in the region. The outer layer of the facade consists of fine-grained, organic rendering that was applied in a coarsely mottled, trowelled technique. The surface texture changes its appearance according to the angle of incidence of the sun. With direct solar radiation, it seems homogeneous, while with a greater angle of inclination of the sun, the facade has a more heterogeneous appearance.
To stress the monolithic character of this multifamily dwelling block, the architects chose the same colour tone for all metal surfaces. The Venetian blinds to the window openings and the loggias are also fixed in the same plane as the facades, so that in a closed state, they help to create a building volume with a homogeneous cubic form.