2.1.2025
QuadroDesign Cabin
In 2022, QuadroDesign commissioned studio wok for the renovation of the offices and showroom at their headquarters in San Maurizio d’Opaglio (Novara).
In 2024, a second phase was undertaken, which included open spaces and the recovery of an electrical cabin. This project maintains a consistent language and has now reached its completion.
The project is located near Lake D’Orta, within the headquarters of the faucet company QuadroDesign. The intervention – also assigned to studio wok – included the redesign of the garden and the recovery of an old electrical cabin on the property and represents the second phase of work, following the restyling of the offices and showroom that took place in 2022.
This project arises from QuadroDesign’s intention to add new spaces to the property that could have flexible and dynamic uses, suitable for both the Magistro family (Enrico and Elena are the second generation now leading the company) and for commercial purposes or as an artist’s residence.
A concrete plateau defines a sort of public square from which three volumes emerge, defining various potential uses of the space in a fluid and flexible manner: the cabin, the pergola, and the pool.
The recovery and reuse of the abandoned electrical cabin, given its unusual shape for an inhabited space, provide an opportunity for spatial experimentation; the ground floor is directly connected to the outdoors, featuring a series of external metal sliding doors to manage the transition. The interior accommodates some technical functions, such as a bathroom and a mini kitchen, which can also serve as support for outdoor activities. Thus, the building becomes a small activator of the company’s open spaces.
Verticality is exploited through two mezzanines, connected by a system of metal stairs. The first, more generous, is made of natural wood and can accommodate a bed, while the second repurposes an existing concrete slab and can be used as a cozy spot in direct contact with the light from the nearby window.
The choices of materials and colors aim to create a neutral and absolute, almost sacred space. There are no colors, and materials are left in their natural hues, flooded with light. The pergola is positioned at the edge of the concrete plateau, perpendicular to the cabin; it is constructed with galvanized steel tubular profiles arranged in five spans with a regular distance of 2.6 m. The first two spans can host a lounge or dining area, while a long kitchen counter, custom-made in stone and sheet metal, occupies the other two spans and is protected by a light roof of corrugated metal.
Completing the intervention and defining its boundary is a small pool, semi-embedded in the ground, emerging from the concrete paving as a monolithic volume in anthracite stone (echoing the volume of the kitchen) and serving as a large seating area.