HAUS OBERRAUCH

• Terlano
• 2026

• Industrial
• Residential

Urban Sign: Between Profession and Domestic Life

A new concrete grid interprets the existing structure, generating terraces, depth, and a recognizable urban front.

Located along the main road of Terlano, within a productive and infrastructural context, HAUS OBERRAUCH emerges as an architectural gesture capable of unifying distinct identities: the public nature of a mechanical workshop and the private dimension of domestic living. The project stems from the client’s desire—a family historically rooted in their place of work—to transform the existing vertical extension into a home capable of not only accommodating two separate family units but also serving as a landmark along the road.

The site is defined by a clear dichotomy: to the west and north, it faces an infrastructural landscape of traffic, gas stations, and industrial activities; to the east and south, it opens toward a more intimate dimension of gardens and agricultural greenery. The project works within this tension, constructing a building that acts simultaneously as a filter and a hinge between these two worlds.

Volumetry and Facade Design

From a volumetric perspective, the intervention is based on a direct dialogue with the existing structure. The pitched roof, a defining element of the original building, is preserved and reinterpreted as a generative matrix for the new volume. This is joined by an additional system—a cube on the south side—that completes and balances the composition, introducing a measured and contemporary variation.

The facade design arises from this overlap of memory and innovation. A new structural grid of precast concrete elements—pillars and beams—wraps the building, reinterpreting the traditional geometry of the roof in a contemporary key and translating it into a regular, three-dimensional rhythm. This framework defines a clear and recognizable pace, while simultaneously generating depth, loggias, and terraces that articulate the relationship between interior and exterior.

The facade thus becomes an active device: a system that orders, unifies, and represents. Despite the coexistence of different functions, the building presents itself as a coherent organism, where the grid constructs a strong, continuous image along the street front. The coloration evokes the Terlano porphyry, rooting the intervention in the local context, while the use of precast elements introduces a contemporary, precise, and controlled dimension.

On the west side, facing the road, the grid hosts a sequence of chocolate-brown sheet metal planters, integrated into the design of the parapets and openings. The vegetation within these elements helps soften the scale of the building and establishes a visual mediation with the surrounding environment, introducing a living, changing component into the rigorous structure.

Interior and Organization

The ground floor is configured as an extension of the business activity: a space open to the public that houses offices, a meeting room, and service areas. Entry is through a large sliding glass opening, flanked by a transparent surface that acts as a display window—exhibiting and welcoming at once—while transforming into a habitable niche on the inside. The material language continues from the exterior: the tones of the precast concrete interweave with the warmth of wood and dark turquoise accents that highlight the exposed structural elements.

Access to the residences occurs on the opposite side through the southern garden, reaffirming the separation between the public and private spheres. An internal staircase connects the different living levels, organized into two distinct apartments designed for the parents and their son.

First Floor: This level houses an apartment developed around an open-plan living space. The kitchen and living room dialogue with the exterior through a fully glazed facade on the south side. The perimeter terrace, generated by the structural grid, amplifies this relationship, connecting every room directly to the landscape.

Second Floor and Attic: These levels host the second apartment, characterized by a more complex spatial articulation and an internal staircase leading to the upper level, which maintains its original configuration. Here too, the living area opens completely to the south, while the terraces—defined by the facade’s rhythm—offer a variety of views and lighting conditions. The interior atmosphere is defined by the prevalent use of wood and light tones, creating an intimate and domestic environment.

HAUS OBERRAUCH is thus configured as a project of transformative continuity: an architecture reborn through new materials and a new formal order, without forgetting its original foundation. It is a building that does not erase the past but interprets it, building a new identity.