This stone building by Lake Maggiore on the Swiss and Italian border sat uninhabited for two decades before the folks at Swiss firm Wespi de Meuron Romeo got their hands on it. Fast-forward to the "after" shots, and the architects were able to preserve much of the historic building's natural stone masonry, even while adding features like a roof terrace with a lake view, glass walls to let light into the bedrooms, and a new roof. An old vaulted cellar became the house's main entrance, and a fireplace was added to the former grape distillery to become an open-sided living room off the hallway. The wooden floors were replaced with concrete to shore up the stone walls of the building, while an exterior stone staircase was removed in order to create a small plaza with a fountain and a bench in front of the house. In all it's an effective blend of the very modern with the very old, which, as previously noted, is pretty much always fascinating.
· Stone House Transformation in Scaiano [Arch Daily]
· Wespi de Meuron Romeo Architects [Official site]
· All Renovations posts [Curbed National]