carlo mollino's historic 'rascard garelli' photographed by marcello mariana

in 1962, surveyor felice garelli asked his friend carlo mollino — the acclaimed architect, designer, and photographer — to relocate and restore a traditional ‘rascard’ to serve as a holiday home in northwestern italy’s val d’ayas. mollino began by numbering each piece of the historic wooden structure, before dismantling and reassembling them on a newly constructed masonry base across the valley, in the village of champoluc. these images of ‘rascard garelli’, taken by photographer marcello mariana, take a closer look at the building, which was completed in 1965.

all images © marcello mariana

mariana’s photos illustrate the composition of the house, where the relocated wooden structure sits on top of its more recently built foundation. this stone base was designed by carlo mollino, who sought to reference the region’s traditional construction techniques. for example, the stone pillars that support the timber structure are mollino’s reinterpretation of the ‘mushrooms’ — wooden columns crowned with a disc — historically used to support a rascard’s upper levels. the base’s continuous curved grating also draws from the structure’s original design language.

the upper levels of the home can be accessed externally by a concrete staircase on the southern façade. again designed by mollino, the staircase has thin steps, resting on a reinforced concrete beam. both the beam and the design of the balustrade uprights are typical of mollino’s expressive curving forms, evident in both his furniture and photography. on this side of the house, the rascard extends more than two meters away from the stone base. the use of timber and stone is continued internally, with the entire building topped with slate slabs.

project info:

name: rascard garelli
architect: carlo mollino
location: champoluc, italy
completed: 1965
photography: marcello mariana