Alemanys 5

THE NEW WORK DIALOGUES WITH THE OLD

The reform has been approached as a search for the most intrinsic characteristics of the original construction, and the building has been freed of additions and recent reforms, interpreting the old elements not so much through an historical perspective as through their architectural qualities.

The minimalism of the intervention suggests the austerity of past times. The new work dialogues with the old. The entry of natural light helps shape the volumes and emphasises the fluidity of the spaces. The refurbishment is resolved with very few materials: stone, wood, steel and concrete, used in their natural colours and textures.

The architectural unit consists of the body of the building and a side garden fronting onto the street. The building has two arms, the first one aligned with the street and the other with the thick interior wall. The staircase, positioned in the space in between these two bodies, acts as a pivot point from which the rest of the layout is generated.

The layout respects the logic of the existing structure to adapt it to the new functional requirements. On the ground floor, from the front door you enter the hall and a small shop. On the first floor there is an apartment, opening onto the courtyard and garden; and on the second and third floors there is a second, duplex apartment: it has the bedrooms on the lower floor, and the living room and kitchen upstairs to enjoy the views and access the rooftop terrace.

The garden, enclosed by high stone walls, has been formalised into three consecutive planes that go from hardest to softest: concrete, lawn and water. The zone contiguous to the house is in planed concrete. The plane of lawn floats above the water of the pool. It is like a dark reservoir that overflows and disappears, reflecting the neighbouring wall.