Location: Lodi (Milano), Italy
Arhchitecture: Anna Rosa
Year of construction: 2011
Extract from our news article:
NO BRICKS, THE ENTIRE HOUSE IS MADE OF WOOD
The house is made completely out of wood. Not one single brick. It is probably one of a kind in the town of Lodi. The idea came from Marc Riccaboni, a well known Lodi based finance advisor, who had one great wish in life: to live in an ecologic, healthy and friendly custom made house. The longing did not last for too long. With the montage construction system and with the help of architect Anne Rosa, who had always dreamed of designing a house with such characteristics, the house was built in one week. With it Riccaboni returned to his childhood – his house is actually situated on Monferrato street, next to the home of his parents. Even the garden, which had been neglected and forgotten for years, resurrected the aromas he had been savouring in his memory. Where potatoes and tomatoes once grew, there will now be bushes of rosemary and lavender. Riccaboni really believes in this project: »When you invest into the outer shell of the house, you don’t need to invest much into heating and air-condition. I will install two geothermal probes, which will heat the water up to 37 degrees« he explains. »Wood is an excellent insulator. Maybe I will later on also install solar panels, but I don’t think that that will be necessary. A house made entirely of wood gives a sense of warmth so you never truly feel any cold. For example, when there is a temperature of 19 degrees Celsius and the heating is turned off, it will take the house 14 hours to cool down to that temperature. The house has the size of 200m2 and we will heat it up during winter and cool it down during summer for 800 Eur per year. Outside, we will also have rainwater harvesting tank«, he adds.
»The outer walls have a thickness of 24 cm and contain no petroleum products. Wooden walls made of spruce wood are treated with natural finishes. This house undoubtedly offers the highest quality of life«, he explained. »The house is ecological because it is made exclusively out of natural materials«, says Rosa. »This is nature friendly, it has little influence on the environment, it is comfortable and cosy. It is energy efficient. Wood, an excellent natural insulator, ensures low energy consumption, which contributes to reduced pollution of the environment. And not only that: it is also fire- and earthquake-proof. Even if we compare merely the cost of building a traditional house made of bricks and concrete, we actually made economies.« »Such houses« says Riccaboni, »are designed in collaboration with architects, who make sure that they are adjusted to their rural environment and to the wishes of the customer. I personally had a great relationship with the company who built my house: I am talking about the Slovenian Riko Haus (Riko Hiše). The quality of their work and performance was above all expectations. «
