ISM | house

The restoration and extension of a semi-detached house from the 1920s was the opportunity to deal with the juxtaposition of old and new and the application of a sustainable approach. The project consists of the restoration of the existing building, which houses three small, rented apartments and a new extension with two bigger apartments for the owner. At the back of the existing house, an extension and a warehouse, both built in the 1950s, filled almost half of the plot. These aspects were demolished and their volume was shifted in the new extension and in the renovation of the attic in the existing semi-detached house. Instead of designing the extension for continuity with the existing façade, the new building was pulled back from the street frontage. This movement allowed for the use of the existing stairwell for both the new and the old building and for bigger windows toward the south in the extension building, providing privacy for the owner. Moreover, these windows contribute to the maximization of passive solar heating: this solution reduces energy consumption along with the geothermal plant for heating and the hot water system and the photovoltaic system on the southern pitched roof of the existing ...