StudioArch has designed the FM Villa located in Sommo (Pv) – Italy.
The idea was to use the concept of sculpture starting from pure volume (the block of matter), work it and dig it up to get the final project.
courtesy StudioArch
courtesy StudioArch
courtesy StudioArch
courtesy StudioArch
+ Statement from StudioArch
Make a project of a private villa has completely different from all the other tasks that you can receive for the simple reason that the customer is also user and developer of a singular thing:
A rapresentative object of his personality. In these cases, without succumbing to the easy temptation to follow the directives of the client, it is important to understand the nature of customer’s character like in a therapy.
In this case it is a manager “by chance” whose true spirit leads him to understand without much effort the various nuances and expressions of art.
His initial request were intentionally very generic and like all open minds did not impose anything perhaps hoping to be surprised by the final result. The idea was to use the concept of sculpture starting from pure volume (the block of matter), work it and dig it up to get the final project. In this interpretation, the sculptural process is not done randomly but guided by the relationship context / interior /energy saving / urban law requirements.
The local urban plan in particular have characterized predominantly outward appearance starting from the awareness of a fact. In Italy, often, respect for tradition, art and the landscape translate into ridiculous impositions that limit the work of architects through an iconic image of a culture of the past never really existed. All that the legislator wants, in essential, is the mimicry towards other neighboring buildings. In a landscape like the Italian one, marked by the reckless and unauthorized building, where every town, big or small, every 3-4 years it implement its expansion with new developing areas when in the same time about 30% of housing is not used, the the legislator’s concern focuses on methods to standardize the national architectural landscape to a distorted view of what they think it should be. In this perverse mechanism of collective imagination creation ,probably irreparably distorted, , bringing the mass to think that what is right or not in term of architecture, art and landscape. Really stupid. The denial of this rules restriction was used in the project as part of modelling processing. The inverse roof, at the same time, serve both for the collection of sunlight and for respect of rules. A fait accompli the authorities have not been able to see irregularities in the interpretation of legislation despite being in front of a decidedly unwelcome result for the legislator.
Contextualization with the place and the local tradition
The building is located in a small town on the periphery of Lombardy (Italy) in area that directly borders the surrounding countryside. As in the whole plains region, here you can see poplar trees, cultivated by man and arranged in regular rows that filter the view. Between trees, the visuals are irregular and unpredictable due to the different forms of the logs that compose it. The same concept was used in our project for creating an open space that runs through the house in the direction of the visual of the poplars. From the outside of the house, positioning between trees and the villa, you can see the same irregular view conform with the surrounding nature while maintaining its clear characteristic of unnatural human artifact.
Functional distribution
the Interior layout is organized around this void that runs through the villa that becomes the distribution element and it also assumes, for size and specifications, the role of multifunctional space. The shape and arrangement of the rooms is dictated by functional needs and therefore are not all orthogonal to the outer shell.
The design of this interiors spaces follows the concept explained before integrating it with functional needs and orientation dictated by reason.
Energy efficiency
The roof design, facing south, has resulted in significant benefits in terms of energy and natural ventilation. Infact the flap more inclined, where we installed solar and photovoltaic panels, can never be in shadow. At the same time the shape of the roof and the openings creates a natural ventilation in summer time for good thermal comfort. From the technological point of view the house is of course equipped with all contemporary devices integrated with each other to achieve a high energy performance.
The windows haven’t shielding to not compromise the coherence of the project concept. However, to avoid problems arising from excessive incoming light was applied to a glass film that filters the sun’s rays by adjusting energy intake and avoiding overheating internally.
Poetic elements added
the roof’s design and the free internal distribution has led to a problem: in no way, it was possible to place a pillar under the roof’s central beam, where it was needed. So the “problem” is solved by creating a precarious balance between the apparent of the roof’s weight and the ephemeral’s weight of a lamp to represent the substantial unpredictability of life and the need to looking for the truth in every situation of life.
Site: Sommo (Pv) – Italy
Date: 2011
Project: AgostinoMarinoni/FrancoGorrini/LindaPizzocaro
+ All images courtesy StudioArch
