Hometown House

Hometown House is a minimalist residence located in Val di Non, Italy, designed by MoDus Architects. The project addresses a fundamental question in contemporary architecture: how does one honor rural building traditions while creating something distinctly contemporary? In a valley famous for apple orchards and characterized by traditional white plaster houses with wooden roofs, the residence emerges as both homage and counterpoint – its blackened larch facade and converging single-pitched volumes acknowledging vernacular forms while asserting a modern vocabulary.

The commission arose from a deeply personal impulse. After decades living across Europe, Africa, and the United States, the owner chose to return to his birthplace, building on the site of his parents’ former home. This act of return shaped every aspect of the design, transforming what could have been a simple vacation house into an architectural meditation on memory, place, and belonging. The architects Sandy Attia and Matteo Scagnol conceived the home primarily as a space for gathering – where family and friends would convene for holidays, shared meals, and the rhythms of valley life.

The exterior employs water-treated black larch arranged in vertical panels interrupted by large openings and dynamic, irregular lines. This treatment allows the building to read as a singular dark volume against the rolling orchards, its oblique geometries suggesting movement across the sloping site. The choice of larch connects to local building practices while its blackened finish establishes contemporary distinction. A custom door handle, replicated from the building’s footprint, continues MoDusArchitects’ practice of embedding architectural form into tactile details.

Inside, material transitions mark spatial hierarchies. Large-format grey porphyry slabs – sourced from the nearby Cembra Valley – flow from the entry vestibule through the dining area to the open kitchen and outdoor loggia. The kitchen itself juxtaposes knotless, vertical-grain larch paneling with a monolithic concrete island, grey tiles, and stainless steel surfaces. This interplay between warm wood and cool stone creates spatial definition without walls, allowing views to extend through generous windows to the Brenta Dolomites beyond.

The living room descends two steps from the entry, its walls finished in rough lime plaster mixed with local stone aggregates – basalt, porphyry, and white marble. A continuous porphyry windowsill doubles as seating along the glass walls, blurring the boundary between interior and landscape. This sunken arrangement recalls the traditional stube – the Alpine wood-paneled family room that appears on the lower level – while adapting its inward focus to embrace panoramic views.

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