House at Mill Creek

Design by Pedevilla Architects

Situated near mill creek, the House at Mill Creek presents itself with the elegance and serenity of a small mansion. In an apparently self-confident manner, the white monolith rises from the site. Pedevilla Architects emphasize the volumetric principle by the exclusive usage of a pale white exterior rendering. The main focus lies on the natural materiality, while the sensation is in the eye of the beholder. Only by the presence of light and shadow, performing its everyday play on the coarse-grained surfaces, can the building utterly unfold its exemplary visual dynamic.

The rising silhouette of the House at Mill Creek gives a slight impression of the upward striving space sequence on the inside. Square-shaped windows refer every now and then to significant spots in the alpine landscape. The vertical facade descends sheer homogeneously into the deep and slightly slanting embrasures of the window openings. The internal space arrangement was displaced half-level wise, reaching from the ground level, passing the private areas in the middle, up to the generous living room in the attic.

The outer plaster of the House at Mill Creek is a blend of chalk and selected marble sands. The structural elements were made with a vertical coring brick. No additional insulating methods were applied. The internal walls were plastered with a blend of chalk and selected marble sands, and the thin-layered plaster was smoothened afterwards. All floors were made with hand-hewn elm wood, while all floors for sanitary units were made with Passeirer Gneiss, a regional stone.

The House at Mill Creek has a building size of 8 by 13 meters, with a net internal area of 220m2 and a volume of 1060m3. It is located in Muehlen In Taufers/Campo Tures, South Tyrol, Italy. The project was realized between September 2012 and November 2014.

The building was awarded by the Casa Clima Agency with the low energy Casa Clima B class certification. Casa Clima buildings exhibit optimized construction methods, careful execution, and a high level of comfort. In order to be qualified as Casa Clima B category, a building's heating energy consumption has to be within the spectrum of 50 kilowatt hours per square meter annually.

The House at Mill Creek is a testament to the Pedevilla Architects' commitment to reduction of building technology and materials, high material quality, simple details, natural lighting, and regional craftsmanship. It showcases the implementation of regional characteristics such as the roof form and wooden parlour, as well as ecological efficiency by avoiding balconies and simplicity in the building's geometry. The avoidance of chemical insulations and the energy-efficient usage of bricks further contribute to the design's sustainability.

The House at Mill Creek is a masterpiece in craftsmanship, overcoming the challenges of fitting into a minimal building site and maintaining a high-quality standard in both work and materials. Its unique design and attention to detail have earned it the Iron A' Design Award in 2016, recognizing its well-designed, practical, and innovative characteristics that meet professional and industrial requirements.

Image Credits: Copyright by Pedevilla Architects / Photography by Gustav Willeit

Intellectual Property Notice: Copyright by Pedevilla Architects / Photography by Gustav Willeit