The building is set on a hill surrounded by olive trees and vineyards near the ancient village of Pereta, in the Tuscan Maremma countryside. The landscape around it is characterized by gently rolling hills sloping down towards the sea. The view from the house sweeps over Monte Argentario and the islands of the Tuscan archipelago.
Project Name: Maremma House
Studio Name: Studio Ponsi
Location: Magliano in Toscana, Grosseto, Italy
Year: 2013-2015
The house is laid out as three layers of volumes stretching horizontally along the north-south axis. The linear shape of the three floors echoes the dominating horizontality of the land. The arrangement of the volumes corresponds to the distribution of activity in the house as well as referring to a metaphorical stratification of meanings.
The bottom layer, partially underground, houses the bedrooms and the mechanicals. The only façade, which faces east, is sheathed in rows of tufa blocks quarried in the area. This level represents the base of the house rooted in the soil, recalling the centuries-old local building tradition centered around the use of tufa stone.
The middle floor, accessed via an outside travertine staircase, contains the common areas of the living room and kitchen, which open onto a porch right next to the pool. The whitewashed stucco facades and the predominance of massive walls over the voids of the windows and doors are inspired by typical Mediterranean architecture.
Metal steps lead from the porch to the upper terrace, which gives onto the master bedroom. The bedroom can also be reached by an interior concrete staircase directly from the living room. Sheathed in wooden planks, the top floor evokes nautical architecture, making the entire house resemble by analogy the shape of a ship run aground.
Steps, railings, beams, and exterior decks are made of galvanized steel. By contrast, all the metal elements used on the interior – furnishing accents, lamps and light fixtures, and the floor baseboard – are brass or copper. The radiators, custom designed by the architect, are also made of copper.
Andrea Ponsi Architetto
The activity of Studio Ponsi, established in Florence in 2008 by Andrea and Luca Ponsi, aims to link the various design scales in a relationship of mutual correspondences: urban design, architecture, interiors, furniture, and objects.
Interested in exploring the analogic relationships between form and sensations, nature and artifice, past and present, the projects are developed following a line of thought at the same time rigorous, fluid and open, that metaphorically is reflected in the dominant linearity of the compositions.
Just as any action on an architectural and town planning scale links the uniqueness of the project with the climate and the geographic and cultural conditions of every place, so the design of furniture and objects is the result of the integration of research and invention with the ever valid principles of proportion, balance, and harmony.
The intrinsic craftsmanship of this conception implies dedicating special attention to the perceptive, sensorial and material aspects of each project.
The theoretical basis of this approach is further developed by preparing publications and exhibitions dedicated to the cognitive aspects of creative thought, paying special attention to manual drawing as a tool for analyzing and developing design ideas.
