{"id":319628,"date":"2026-02-04T10:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T10:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/319628\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T10:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T10:48:11","slug":"enrico-sass-revamps-1970s-house-overlooking-lake-lugano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/319628\/","title":{"rendered":"Enrico Sass revamps 1970s house overlooking Lake Lugano"},"content":{"rendered":"

Architect Enrico Sassi has refreshed a mid-century<\/a> house in Ticino, Switzerland, with new windows, a stainless-steel kitchen and a colour palette dictated by Le Corbusier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lugano-based Sassi<\/a> oversaw a complete renovation of the 1972-built house, originally designed by German studio Unterl\u00f6hner + Waibel and located on a hillside in Vernate, overlooking Lake Lugano.<\/p>\n

\"NightDesigned by German studio Unterl\u00f6hner + Waibel, the house was built in 1972<\/p>\n

Sassi aimed to revive the original character of the single-storey house, which features distinct elements including an asymmetric gable roof, bare brickwork, and an exposed timber frame.<\/p>\n

The most noticeable change was the replacement of the original interior colours with three shades from the Les Couleurs<\/a> palette devised by modernist architect Le Corbusier, first released in 1931 and extended in 1959.<\/p>\n

\"DiningThe house features bare brickwork and an exposed timber frame<\/p>\n

Instead of the previous blue, yellow and white tones, Sassi specified three colours from the 1959 palette. Bleu Outremer 59, Le Jaune Vif and Blanc Ivoire were all applied in a high-sheen lacquer finish.<\/p>\n

The new blue matches the shade favoured by French artist Yves Klein<\/a>, offering a bolder contrast with the brickwork than the dark hue chosen previously.<\/p>\n

This shade was applied to wooden doors and partition walls in the living spaces, while yellow indicates bedrooms and white features in the bathrooms.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
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Schwartz and Architecture updates Silicon Valley house by Frank Lloyd Wright prot\u00e9g\u00e9\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

“The idea was to maintain the original choice palette, but change the intensity and luminosity,” Sassi told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“I am particularly proud of the new blue,” he said. “It gives a lot of life and joy, and combines harmoniously with the brick colour.”<\/p>\n

\"BlueThe original blue was swapped for Le Corbusier’s Bleu Outremer 59<\/p>\n

Sassi oversaw the renovation for a Zurich-based couple who plan to use it as a vacation residence. The couple knew the original owners, which increased the desire to respect the original design.<\/p>\n

The layout was kept as it was, with the kitchen and a combined living and dining room at the front of the split-level floor plan, and two bedrooms and bathrooms located half a storey up at the rear.<\/p>\n

\"LivingA coconut fibre carpet provides a textural floor surface<\/p>\n

The renovation mainly focused on the building’s energy performance. An air-to-water heat pump was installed in place of the old gas-powered heating system, along with new pipes and radiators, and extra insulation was inserted below the floor slab.<\/p>\n

Sassi retained the original wooden window frames but replaced the single-glazing with insulated double-glazing. The only exception was the bathroom, where the windows had to be completely replaced.<\/p>\n

\"StainlessThe kitchen combines a stainless-steel kitchen with a flower-print curtain<\/p>\n

The kitchen was most in need of modernisation. The architect opted for stainless steel, creating a clear contrast between new and old.<\/p>\n

“Stainless steel is a material that can disappear, reflecting the surrounding colours,” he told Dezeen. “No other material or colour would have fitted.”<\/p>\n

\"BedroomLe Corbusier’s Le Jaune Vif, a yellow shade, was applied in the bedrooms<\/p>\n

Two-tone ceramic tiles provide a heavy-duty floor surface in both this room and the hallways, while a coconut fibre carpet offers a more textural surface in the living room and bedrooms.<\/p>\n

Interior details include curtains made from Marimekko<\/a> textiles, most strikingly a blue version of the brand’s famous Unikko flower print designed by Maija Isola in 1964.<\/p>\n

\"LakeThe house is located on a slope overlooking Lake Lugano<\/p>\n

Other standout furnishings include a version of designer Nils Strinning’s 1949 String shelves in red, yellow and blue, designer Verner Panton<\/a>‘s 1971 Panthella lamps in white, various Danish-designed wooden chairs and tables and a wood-burning stove.<\/p>\n

Recent residential Swiss projects featured on Dezeen include a self-built wooden treehouse<\/a> and a concrete housing block with colourful details<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Marcelo Villada Ortiz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Project credits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Architect:<\/strong> Enrico Sassi Architetto
Construction company:<\/strong> Bosisio
RCVS systems:<\/strong> Equans Switzeralnd
Carpenter:<\/strong> Cavaleri Carlo
Electrician:<\/strong> Jermini Elettricit\u00e0
Plumber:<\/strong> J\u00f6rg Soldati
Kitchen:<\/strong> Tiba
Plasterer:<\/strong> Willy Robbiani Costruzioni
Painter:<\/strong> SP Color
Locksmith:<\/strong> Bernasconi Renato
Upholsterer:<\/strong> Knupfer arredamenti
Exterior work:<\/strong> Inalbero<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Architect Enrico Sassi has refreshed a mid-century house in Ticino, Switzerland, with new windows, a stainless-steel kitchen and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,80328,366,18,117,1789,19,17,21569,24165,2919,10357,12755,154605,2423],"class_list":["post-319628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-colour","tag-design","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-houses","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-le-corbusier","tag-mid-century-renovations","tag-renovations","tag-sectionall","tag-sectioninteriors","tag-swiss-houses","tag-switzerland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116011972025820215","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}