We are very pleased to learn that the Rifugio Carlo Mollino (mountain hut), built in Gressoney Saint Jean (AO) on the project of “Casa Capriata” by the architect Carlo Mollino, has been included in the “National Census of Italian architecture of the late Twentieth century”, edited by the Directorate General for Art and contemporary Architecture and urban Suburbs of MIBACT – The Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. An acknowledgement that gives continuity to our re-editions (homage to Carlo Mollino) still in our catalogue.
The building, built faithfully along the famous designer’s original drawings, is an internationally important event, homage to one of the most prestigious avant-garde design and architectural trends and a gift to those who love the breathtaking mountains in Valle d’Aosta.
Casa Capriata is a mountain hut in Gressoney Saint Jean that overlooks the ski slopes in the Weissmatten neighbourhood, along the Great Walser Path. A protagonist of Italian culture in ’900, professor at the School of Architecture in Turin, designer and enthusiastic ski instructor, Carlo Mollino designed Casa Capriata between 1953 and 1954, when the prototype was presented at the 10th Milan Triennial. The original project was inspired by the typical Walser architecture of the Gressoney and Valtournenche valleys, which Mollino had studied since 1929. At the 4th Conference on Mountain Architecture held in Bardonecchia in 1954, Mollino said that: «As in the past, new materials and new techniques can and must lead to the creation of a mountain architecture that mirrors the ideally consistent current world». Based on the idea of a light wooden construction, the house envisages a frame made of three chain trusses: the lateral walls are the roof’s pitch, which extends to the sloping side of the truss. The modular construction project based on a light wooden prefab structure, which was highly innovative in those years, is carried on with the same spirit with which Mollino presented it at the 10th Triennial: “The assembly of structures and finishes requires a very small construction site. Visitors should find the assembly process’ demonstration more interesting than the finished house itself”. The building envisages an entirely ecosustainable wooden structure that requires very little energy for heating, thus limiting emissions into the atmosphere. Considered as one of the 100 projects of excellence for the ecosustainable development in the Alps-Mediterranean Euroregion, it has been certified by the Agenzia CasaClima in Bolzano (Class A plus).
Concerning furnishings, Casa Capriata has been completed with Carlo Mollino’s furniture items (i.e. armchairs, chairs, tables), which are still produced by Zanotta: the table Reale (1946), Ardea (1944) and Gilda armchairs (1954), the mirror Milo (1937, the first homage to the famous architect). Drawings and graphic processing have been provided by the Carlo Mollino Archive, Turin Polytechnic.
The initiative has been curated by the Department of Architectural Planning and Industrial Design (DIPRADI), Turin Polytechnic, and by the Association of Architects, Province of Turin (OAT). Besides the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta and the Gressoney Saint Jean Municipality, sponsors included the Milan Triennial, Agenzia Casaclima and Zanotta.
(article taken from the online magazine Zanotta Happenings, 2016)
