TWIN HOUSES IN MONTESIRO
LOCATION Montesiro, Milan, Italy
YEAR 1982
THEME Architecture, Dwelling spaces, Twin houses
STATUS Built
DESIGNERS Antonio Monestiroli, Paolo Rizzatto
TEAM Isabella Lagomarsino, Cristina Manzoni
The assignment was to build ten twin houses on a sloping plot with a beautiful southern view of the Lombardy countryside. The five buildings are arranged in two parallel rows. The three in the first row are spaced far enough apart to allow views of the valley from the two furthest back. The established type is of twin, paired houses facing a single large double-height pergola oriented to the south, which forms the main site of the house and its identifying element. Under the pergola the two houses are separated by a dividing wall.
The internal distribution of the houses is usual: kitchen and living room on the ground floor in direct communication with the pergola, three bedrooms and bathrooms on the upper floor. A narrow balcony allows overlooking of the rooms still under the pergola. The slope of the land makes it possible to carve out a driveway completely recessed from the elevation of the houses so as to clearly distinguish the two levels, and to bury the car garages. The houses will thus appear above a high basement. The construction materials are: exposed brick for the masonry of the houses and white-painted reinforced concrete for all other masonry parts. The pergola is built with a steel trellis painted dark green resting on a row of concrete pillars painted white. The window frames and all other metal parts are painted the same color as the pergola.
Photo by Donato Di Bello
IN
Massimo Ferrari (edit by) Antonio Monestiroli Opere, progetti e studi di architettura Electa Milan 2001
Francesco Moschini (edit by) Antonio Monestiroli Progetti 1967-1987
Edizioni Kappa Rome 1988