Piero Bottoni, Casa Ideale, Milano, Italy, 1942

While in the cities people know alarms and rushing in shelters made in cellars, Bottoni dreams of a seaside retreat, a minimum space in direct contact with nature and protected enough.

A wooden box of 3,51 meters x4,09, covered with a corrugated roof in a single flap, is supported by 4 cables tapered pylons, sunk in concrete plinths so that the walking plane is raised by the latter in a height of 4.71 meters. A fifth pillar through the “box” at the point where it is converted into a small porch. In addition to enhancing the stability, it serves to hold up a spiral staircase you can reach the passenger compartment directly from water. From the veranda is possible go inside through a sliding door. The space indoors is a parallelepiped with base 3,93×2,20 and 2,17 meters in height. To this we are joined the toilet compartment accessible from the veranda and in the depth of this content.
In the flat, the light enters through a window of 1.11 x 0.59 meters and a window flap inserted in the roof and operable through sliding closing an opening formed in the ceiling.
They come to mind certain buildings for fishing on the Adriatic coast; but, if the design of the details shows a working knowledge of building elements and of its materials or craftsman who looks back on experiences of self, here the research of essential is identified with the existential reflections expressed in the language of architecture.
In Casa ideale, and other houses, when the settings allow him to, Bottoni conceive his villa as “instrument” for living in a landscape, while in the same time adding value to it.

References:

C. [Consonni], Progetto di «Casa ideale su palafitte», 1942-43, in G. Consonni, L. Meneghetti, G. Tonon (a cura di), Piero Bottoni. Opera completa, Fabbri, Milano 1990, pp. 318-319.

“Opere Di Piero Bottoni”. 2017. Archiviobottoni.Polimi.It. http://www.archiviobottoni.polimi.it/terzo_livello/operaver.php3?num=213.

Reviewed March 2017 by:
Yue Shang
Xiaolin Lu
Lizhongyang Zhou
Adelina Muntean