A little creativity and some knowledge can go a long way into changing old structures like an alpine garage into a beautiful cottage.
The old man who lives in the house raises herbs and tends a garden. His garage was unused as it was just for a vehicle. What the garage had though was a perfect location with a view to the entire mountain range.
From Kirsten Dirksen
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Architects Gianmatteo Romegialli and Erika Gaggia saw that their friend Carlo “Dino” Marchetti had a garage with an amazing view of the Italian Alps. They suggested to Carlo to turn his garage into something “fun”. Because Dino had a great passion for gardening they built a steel frame around the building and let the local plants and vines to completely encircle and wrap the home in second skin of nature.
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On the inside, most of the cement was left as it was. Industrial materials like steel were added to build a kitchen and frames for the windows. By adding a hole in the wall between the old garage and the former storage room the space was expanded into a second room for relaxation and potting the garden.
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High above the province of Sondrio In the Alps, what is now known as “green box” is shaped like a normal home, but the amazing plants give it the gable-roofed shape. Using simple glazed panels and simple joints, the architects managed to create the feeling of a lived-in greenhouse. Like anything living in nature, the cottage changes with the seasons to match nature.
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Video and Pictures Source: Kirsten Dirksen