Casa Muggia, Barzana

Villa Muggia stands on a terraced lot at the outer border of the Bergamasque countryside which can be seen beyond its porticoes and scenic windows. The 140 square meter building has a single floor above ground and an attic created by exploiting its unique spatial design based on a group of separate volumes. The main room is a big, two-level living room with two wings, one for the dining room and kitchen - facing a small portico and with a spiral staircase leading down to a small cellar - and one for the two main bedrooms. The attic is an independent functional unit; the guest rooms in the attic can be reached from the entrance using a dedicated staircase designed with cupboards underneath the steps.

The biggest problem Magistretti had to solve was how to let light into the main, north-facing side of the house. He studied this problem extensively and adopted the following solution: the pitches of the roof above the living room (single volume) sloped in different directions to let in sunlight from the south and east. Several windows on each side of this volume create an interesting, mercurial pattern of natural lighting, differing in intensity during the day.

All the floors are uniformly paved with slate slabs; inserts have been introduced into the reinforced concrete load-bearing structure while the vertical walls are coated in white glaze. The pitched roof is covered with copper sheeting.

The security grilles that have been installed over the years have partially altered the original perception of the elevations, but the house is still an important example of Magistretti's custom of designing his buildings as plastic assemblies of separate volumes, especially when they are single-family houses. In fact, a similar typological study had already produced meaningful examples: Casa Bassetti at Azzate (1960-1962), the House in Ello (1960-1962), the Club House at Carimate (1958-1961), and the Town Hall in Cusano Milanino (1966-1969).