Errante Architetture injects new life into "anonymous" 1960s house in northern Italy

An unremarkable mid-century house is now bursting with character following a radical renovation and extension by Rome-based Errante Architetture.

Rather than demolishing the "anonymous" 1960s property, Errante Architetture founders Sarah Becchio and Paolo Borghino opted to restructure the building and add an extra block alongside it.

Now known as Casa BM, the revamped residence provides a 450-square-metre home for a family near Mount Monviso in Piedmont, northern Italy.

The house is almost unrecognisable from its previous incarnation, thanks to new glazing, a replacement roof and a reconfigured interior layout.

Many details match those of the adjoining annexe, so the distinction between old and new is not immediately apparent.

The original house contains two storeys, plus a loft located directly beneath the sloping gable roof. The annexe is single-storey, connected on the east side by a new corridor, but sits above a generous new basement.

Exterior details give clues about the house's interior, such as the various windows that form a back-to-front L shape on the southern facade, or the curving concrete wall that forms the annexe's eastern side.

As you enter the house, it becomes clear that curved and diagonal geometries define key sections of the redesigned floor plan.

"While the architectural volumes appear to obey a precise orthogonal order, the spatial sequences are governed by diagonal and curved lines," explained Becchio and Borghino.

"Starting from the property's outer edge, they define level changes in the garden and guide movements in and out of the house, amplifying the sense of continuity between interior and exterior, between the ground floor and the various levels of the dwelling."

The new layout creates an open-plan kitchen and dining room in the original house, while the annexe provides a living room and a study. Bedrooms are located upstairs, while the basement contains an extra workspace.

Throughout the house, materials are exposed both inside and outside. The mix of timber and concrete – both cast and blockwork – creates a balance of warm and cool tones, and brings a sense of texture to every space.

There are various custom-designed details, including gridded balustrades, corrugated metal awnings, sculptural gutters and downpipes and the unusually shaped new ridge beam that supports the new roof of the main house.

The architects chose to pick out many of these elements in red, along with the staircases and the kitchen extractor.

In-built furniture is another key part of the design, with shelves and desks built into various niches and benches installed alongside windows.

The owners carried out some of the construction themselves, while the rest was carried out by local builders.

Becchio and Borghino define their approach "in the reuse of salvaged materials, in the use of standard semi-finished components, and in sourcing high-quality materials at low cost".

"Even when opting for custom-designed details, compositional and technical choices were guided by the aim of ensuring feasibility by local, non-specialised contractors, or through the direct involvement of the clients and architects in self-building practices," they said.

Other Italian houses that have recently been featured on Dezeen include a renovated 1960s villa and a coastal home in Sicily traversed by a "labyrinthine" alleyway.

The photography is by Luca Bosco.

Project credits

Architect: Errante Architetture
Design team: Sarah Becchio, Paolo Borghino, Andrea Loi, Francesco Sordo, Ilaria Boggiatto, Emma Colella, Margherita Randazzo
Site construction and supervision: Paolo Borghino
Structural design and construction site safety: Fabio Borello
Window and door frames: BrunettoLegno
Supply of construction timber: Clen Legnami

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