Apartment//Holiday home Casa Sas­sello

Narrow alleyways and wea­thered palazzi still bear witness today to the craft­smanship and trade of the little village of Brissago on the north-western shore of Lake Mag­giore. Once an important cross­roads between the worlds north and south of the Alps, this Ticino village remains widely renowned for its Brissago cigars. Fol­lowing the old paths, dry-stone walls and chestnut groves up into the steep ter­raced land­scape of Ghi­ridone, the Medi­ter­ranean vege­tation of palm trees, camellias and olive trees gra­dually blends with the Alpine land­scape. Once you arrive in Incella, one of the small, scat­tered hamlets away from the village centre, the view opens out across the lake – from Ascona, across the Brissago Islands, all the way to Luino.

When the current owners first viewed the dila­pi­dated 1950s holiday home up here, it was clear: too big, too expensive, too spooky. But that view! Despite all their doubts, they bought the house and com­mis­sioned the Ticino-based firm Wespi De Meuron Romeo Archi­tects (wdmra) with its trans­for­mation. From the rather unat­tractive old building, the archi­tects deve­loped a compact yet sur­pri­singly per­meable volume that blends natu­rally into the topo­graphy.

Today, Casa Sas­sello com­prises two resi­dential units, one above the other, which can be used either sepa­rately or tog­ether. The ground floor has been pre­served in its ori­ginal form and houses a studio for two people. With its extensive use of masonry, it appears almost mono­lithic. The windows are playfully posi­tioned and set deep into the façade, creating an almost graphic effect. Behind it, the sur­roun­dings appear as a sequence of indi­vi­dually framed pic­tures – a section of the mountain sil­houette, vege­tation, the sky or the old stone walls of the former vineyard. Deep reveals enhance the interplay of light and shadow and lend the compact space a focused, shel­tered atmo­sphere. The loggia and the garden, com­plete with a bar­becue and a fountain, extend the living area out­wards.

On the newly built, loft-style upper floor, the ratio of wall to opening is reversed. The archi­tecture defines its rela­ti­onship with the sur­roun­dings not through maximum trans­pa­rency, but through a precise dosage of per­mea­bility. The kitchen island, dining and living areas form part of an open, fluid space that extends out­wards via the loggia. Whilst the lakeside opens up the space almost entirely to the view, it takes on a more intro­verted cha­racter towards the hillside: here, three bed­rooms and two bath­rooms are tucked away, framing the rugged rock. In the garden, guests are greeted by the loggia with its built-in stone benches and dining area, as well as a small pool, all over­looking the magni­ficent lakeside backdrop.

Both inside and out, natural stone, timber and mineral sur­faces draw on the tra­di­tional mate­riality of the site without refe­rencing it for­mally. Using just a few basic ele­ments, Casa Sas­sello achieves a remar­kable com­plexity. The archi­tecture has a calm, archaic feel and responds to its extra­or­dinary location not with spec­ta­cular ges­tures, but through a subtle cho­reo­graphy of mate­rials, light, space and land­scape.

Images: Giacomo Albo

What to do

Numerous walking trails (e.g. the panoramic trail to Ascona, to Sacro Monte, the laburnum forest or to various vantage points overlooking Lake Maggiore), as well as cycling and mountain biking tours, swimming in the pool or the lake, a range of water sports, excursions to the picturesque villages around the lake or to the botanical garden on the Brissago Islands, exploring the village’s historical sights, culinary delights and markets, as well as cultural events and traditional festivals

Why we like this house

A house of great architectural calm, offering fabulous views.

This house is great for

Families, couples and small groups of friends looking to enjoy nature and a meditative atmosphere, whether staying together or in separate apartments; thanks to the studio, it’s also ideal for a relaxing workation.

Sustainability

Electric charging point, public transport: bus stop 250 m away and PubliBike 200 m away

Details

Availability calendar

The calendar shows the current availability of the accommodation. On days with a white background, the accommodation is still fully available. If an accommodation has more than one rentable unit, days with free capacities are shown with a light grey background. On days with a dark grey background, the accommodation is not available.

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