Type of project
Private Residence
Year
1999
Tag
Stairs White Recovery Interior Wood
Mentions
ABITARE N. 411
RESIDENCES N° 50
Photographers
Paola De Pietri
Stato
Completato
Localizzazione
Siena, Italia
A house on the oldest street in the city and an apartment in what was once a thirteenth-century convent, the structure taps into the urban stratification with everything developing vertically. The extremely complex spatial design finds its fulcrum in the flights of stairs, conceived as a discreet presence, generating curvilinear designs to access the bedrooms and garage.
The hallways allude to an apse shape and reaffirm the theme of memory, which is powerfully expressed throughout the apartment. The restoration of the four large existing arches unites the living area, transforming the space that was once a refectory in the Middle Ages into a De Chirico-inspired metaphysical square. The architecture of the fireplace, resting on an Indonesian teak platform and crafted into a black parallelepiped, in tribute to Malevich, recreates the intimacy of the old hearth.
On a vertical axis, the staircase services three levels and leads to the basement passing through the ground floor; here, the occasionally overlapping brick wall represents a sort of summary of medieval Sienese building techniques.
This leads us to the most mysterious part of the house, which utilises an old underground Etruscan excavation to cross the street and reach the studio. The ancient passage, cleared of soil and refuse, was transformed into a futuristic cellar, illuminated by an oculus. Sliding steel doors reveal cavities, destined to house excellent vintage wines.
