The project and the subsequent program were the result of a young clients’ will to understand the potential of a site that was very difficult to read and apprehend. where his modest home would be implanted. All he wanted was a simple space, with a dissociated entrance and sleeping space. The budget was of the first issues discussed by the client.
PROGRAMME : House
MO : Private
Architects : ORMA ARCHITETTURA
Location : Village de Sotta, Corse
Area : 49 m²
Coast : 110 000 € HT
Year : 2019
Photo Credits : David Giancatarina and Julien Kerdraon
Right from the start, the client seemed to be drawn towards traditional, typical Corsican architecture. We thus had to pick, select, curate what we deemed fitting in the simple elegance of the typical Corsican constructions. However, copying exactly what has been done for centuries would be running the risk of being out of touch with the times we live in. We had to adapt and translate.
As it is the case for any site presenting itself with such particularities the rocky nature of this particular landscape had its’ challenges. The very first step was to find a natural platform in between the rocks to serve as a base for the program. Upon find this base, the construction would naturally take its place and be constricted to the physical limits and uneven ground.
The materiality was for us an evidence, or it very quickly came to be an evidence. The sanded down concrete would bring out the materiality of the project, echoing the rocky, mineral nature of the site.
In this project, the construction aggregates have a big visual impact because the concrete has been sanded. Moss will appear overtime. Whereas normally it would tend to be problematic, we are counting on this natural phenomenon to come and complete the design. Rocks are often thought to be dead, inert, elements. They are perpetually set. We think this is partially incorrect. They evolve slowly, they weather, and we want the construction to continue this dialog, to evolve with them. It’s almost symbiotic, and that’s the beauty of it!
The project is of course heavily linked to all aspects of the architecture we try and develop. Nature gives a base, acts as an anchor point for the architecture in the landscape. We always work this way, conscious and aware of where we are, what surrounds the future construction and how it will evolve in time. We thrive to create a real conversation with nature and the landscape. In the case of this particular project, the vertical simplicity that was developed was meant to intensify the bucolic dimension of the landscape. The counterparts, so to say, nature gives is simply the views it offers; but not only from the construction but on the construction too.
The same way the base was found, the positioning of the windows and openings was dictated by the site. Dictated, here, is not though as something that was restrictive, but rather as something which was evident. Framing a landscape is creating a composition and this comes naturally with regards to all things: elements of the landscape, field of depth, superposition, and so on. Rather than framing as per the program, the spacialisation was created according to the framing. When composing a scenery, you have to take into account the temporality as well as the subject.
The wooden elements are directly influenced by the number of oak trees in the immediate surroundings, which intertwine with the granite blocs. It’s almost poetic when you think about it. (We mentioned earlier the constructed representation of what is a rock. A tree is though as alive. Seeing the interaction between them on the site only makes you think of a symbiosis. The rocks have constricted, twisted, directed the growth of the trees. They in turn, have found a freedom through this constraint. We thought to unify this relationship, to continue the poem.
