Villa N

How were you commissioned?:
A private client came to us.

What was the brief from the client and how much were they involved?:
The client’s brief was concerning to the functional requirements and to several precise formal element.

How did the brief affect the materials and design choices?:
During the design phase the client wanted to use only ninety degrees angles and regular surfaces, then during the construction he took some decisions towards the choice of "total white". We would like to use other materials that have been refused by the client!

How did your previous experience help you with this project?:
We have had to manage a very difficult relationship with the client to do the best possible and, in this sense, our previous experience has been precious!

Can you explain the layout of the project:
Project of a residential building, just completed near Arezzo (Italy). We organized the unit around a patio with the function of central court at the edge of which takes place home life; this compositional logic allows a certain visual reciprocity between the environments with many possible views and deep optical axes. The living area and the kitchen-dining area are in direct contact among themselves and with the outside by means of a remarkable visual permeabilità, partially filtered, from the leaf-mass of bamboo plants settled in the center of patio. The centrality of this space is partly contradicted by the perimeter openings emphasized by centrifugal projection of some architectural elements stretched until to the extreme edges of the available area (a surface very limited compared to the volume allowed). We gradually deconstructed the volumes and trying to get an architecture that could be slender with lighter elements towards the outside; for example, the wall that marks the the main entrance axis that becomes the long beam suspended above the pedestrian access on the road. The sleeping area on the first floor has an attitude much more private with an "atmospheric" connotation due to its sensitivity to natural light changes and the direct contact with the sky through the linear slots cutted in the roof. In general, during the design phase, the expressive language of this architecture was affected by the preference of the customer for the right angles and the flat surfaces, which has prompted designers to get past the static nature typical of this initial setup through the strategic dislocation of the volumes, the use of suspended masses and shifted surfaces. Then, during construction, other choices of the same type have pushed decisively towards the "total white" option and towards the simplification of the materials used, which have been reduced to plaster for all vertical surfaces in combination with metal panels (ventilated walls made with rolled aluminum panels) and stone slabs , combined with floating wooden surfaces (accoja), for the external floorings. From the point of view of energy, the purely technological solutions have been reduced as much as possible with the use of radiant systems (radiant panels) and solar systems; we wanted to use "low-tech" solutions, when possible, which could ensure the the internal microclimate control in a passive manner through the natural flow of fresh air from the green external areas.

What problems or challenges did you face?:
The technical matters haven’t been a problem. The main difficult was the changes imposed by the client during the construction!

What do you feel were the most unusual design elements of the project?:
The introverted attitude, but also the suspended and cantilevered elements above the roof and the shifted surfaces; they have the functional role to protect the skylights from the sunlight , but actually, they have the important expressive function to give to the composition a particular dynamism.

How do you think this project is pushing design forward? What makes it special?:
This architecture has been build in a very restricted area and we tried to destructure gradually the volumes towards the edges of the available surface to get an architecture strongly linked to the site.

Suppliers Please provide details of product names and suppliers where possible.:
Shuco for the frames, Alucobond panel for several vertical surfaces, plaster in general for the vertical surfaces, stone flooring (travertino) and floating wood floor for the floorings.