Location: Italy
Year of construction: 2000
Architect: Doring Dabmen Joeressen Arcbitekten
Photography: Marios Meisen
This rural home sits on top of a small hill in the Italian countryside. Due to its geographic location, the area is subject to earthquakes. The design took this risk consideration from the outset.
After a careful geological survey, the decision was made to build a reinforced concrete frame covered by brick walls to ensure rigidity, especially at the corners. This supporting system is arranged on a 5 meter grid which dictates the layout of the house.
The brick walls are covered by blocks of native tufa. The porosity of this volcanic material gives the solid, heavy structure an ethereal quality. Also, the thickness of the pieces, 25 cm., makes for 65 cm. walls, enabling the builder to install shutters. These are a real necessity in the sunny Mediterranean. Moreover, the thickness increases the building’s thermal inertia, keeping it cool in summer and distributing the heat in the winter months.
The lower of the two levels contains an office and the rooms devoted to farming activities. The upper level, part of which, due to the slope of
the land, is at ground level, contains the domestic spaces and a large terrace.
One of the goals of the design was to minimize the construction details to let the power of the structure shine through. Expert local artisans were engaged to help solve certain technical problems.
The severe shapes and profusion of right angles contrast with the curved shapes of the surrounding natural world and the organic structures Bernhard Korte placed in the garden. The two pines that were already on the site now coexist with beautifully-shaped olive trees, all personally selected by Korte.
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Sketch of a nearby town Site plan |
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First floor |
Southern elevation
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Lengthwise section |
Second floor The interior spaces are just
as unadorned as the exterior of the building. Righr angles and simple geometric shapes dominate spaces illuminated through small openings in the solid walls.
Eastern elevation