Biocasa_82 - private house

By Francesco Pagliari - 1 October 2014

Although built to the strictest environmental requirements, the new detached house in the Veneto countryside of northeast Italy, has not relinquished any aspect of occupant comfort and wellbeing. The BioCasa_82 programme has harnessed the very latest technology to ensure energy efficiency, thermal insulation and general comfort-zone parameters such as ventilation, light, temperature, humidity and the absence of harmful gases. It is in fact the first private residence in Europe to be awarded the certificate of conformity to the highest level of LEED for homes. The building is equally efficient on a broader scale. For the first time in Italy, a private investigation calculated the construction’s “carbon dioxide footprint” for a time span of 100 years, reporting a 60% reduction compared with traditional buildings.
Great care was taken to select certified recyclable environment-friendly materials, like stone and concrete that were either locally sourced or came from locations close by. The programme complies with local regulations that demand pitched roofs and timber shutters but set its own standards of excellence that began with the initial concept and subsequent design. The house has two aboveground storeys. The ground floor level is occupied by a living zone, kitchen and dining area while the upper level is given over to the night zone. A belowground level with fair-face concrete walls hosts further living spaces and a small gym. It is lit by natural light from large light wells. Like the rest of the house, these belowground environments maintain a rapport, albeit here mediated, with the exterior.
The building comprises two connected blocks, their shape and materials resonating with each other. The large glazed lights of the south-facing living area give on to a timber-paved “patio” enclosed on each side by double-slatted sun-shading extensions in European larch and by a retractable awning. A double-height space provides a...