This project is closely linked to the pre-existing material, morphological and structural features of the building: a load-bearing masonry building characterized by vaulted spaces, pass-through rooms and wooden floors.
Project Name: Casa #392
Office Name: Studio Didea Architetti Associati
Office Website: www.studiodidea.it
Firm Location: Palermo (PA) Italy
Completion Year: 2021
Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2): 135 mq
Project Location: Sambuca di Sicilia
Program / Use / Building Function: Residential/Hospitality
Lead Architects: Studio Didea Architetti Associati
Photo Credits: Peter Molloy
As the building developed on three levels, Studio Didea conceived a project based on the vertical distribution of elements: two self-supporting stair volumes hosting a number of functions, designed in solid and perforated sheet metal to allow the passage of light, and a third volume made of mustard lacquered mirrors and mdf featuring a bathroom and a small ladder to access the mezzanine, thus completing the project.
The master bedroom and the kitchen are the only rooms with a specific and identified use; the others spaces are designed to take on a flexible configuration, with respect to the needs of those who will live there.
Despite the few openings to the outside, the rooms are bright and the doors between the rooms have been handcrafted in wood and glass to allow the passage of light.
A major focus of the project is to bring the light and atmosphere of the village of Sambuca back into the building, intervening with sensitivity and using local materials, creating a space capable of welcoming guests from all over the world, while keeping a clear vernacular identity.
The project moodboard is characterized by the traditional materials present on site and completed by elements that highlight the intervention, without distorting the existing tones. The new elements of the stairwells are highlighted by the choice of contemporary materials and colors – red and green painted metal sheet – in contrast to the neutral and natural tones of the lime and terra cruda wall and floor finishes.
