200-year-old stone house Refurbishment in Linescio

Lies in the secluded Rovana Valley in Ticino, surrounded by groves of chestnut trees and terraced fields, Basel-based Buchner Bründler Architekten has refurbished a 200-year-old stone house into a modest holiday residence in the village of Linescio.

Architects: Buchner Bründler Architekten
Location: Linescio, Switzerland
Photographs: Ruedi Walti

Named “Casa d’Estate”, the new house within a house has been constructed with a homogeneous, monolithic concrete volume inserted inside the existing walls, but their granite walls and roof coverings all remain.

From the outside, the only visible changes are the glass door to the garden and the new concrete chimney stack. Inside, all new elements are consistently made of concrete: the bathtub as a recess in the floor, and the kitchen worktop with a sink integrated as a single cast form.

Inspiration from architect:

The concrete was brought in layer by layer through the opened roof, with the existing walls acting as permanent shuttering. On the inside, the untreated exposed concrete surfaces bear the bold texture of the formwork.

The plastic, evocative qualities of the exposed concrete intensify the archaic character and the calm atmosphere of this stone house.