意大利 Tavole
Ten kilometres inland from the Liguria coast, this stone house rises like a watchtower intuitively seeking out the marine horizon. Built on the remains of a demolished construction, the tower overlooks a valley of olive groves and stone terraces that create the horizontal planes that can be inhabited and cropped. On the basis of this system, in which tradition dominates geography, the first decision of the project was to create a specific topography that would permit an open-air lifestyle in the immediate surroundings of the building. With virtually no interference in the rocky substratum, the house perches on the ground to form a plinth adapted to the irregularities of the rock and unconnected to the upper rooms.
The construction confronts the abrupt natural surroundings, imposing its rigorous geometry. A concrete skeleton forms a three-dimensional mesh whose isotropy is altered to extend the domestic space towards the gentler part of the slope. Dry mortar stone walls are inserted as a voussoir in this grid, taking up the irregular stonework of the farm terraces but manifesting the non-tectonic nature of the enclosure. The three floors, two for the dwelling above the slab holding the cellar and the garage, are affected by the spatial order imposed by the structure’s concrete screens.
There are no vestibules or corridors – just two sizes of rooms that adapt flexibly to their designated uses. Like other rural dwellings, the uses are installed according to custom: the bathroom can be exchanged with the bedroom and the living room with the kitchen or the garage. The intermediate level, which houses the common areas, opens onto the entrance platform under a pergola that extends the concrete structure in an east-west direction.
The orientated composition of the ground plan is further emphasized inside by attaching the staircase and the fireplace to the screen that runs along the main axis of the building. The inward facing fenestration underscores the depth of the wall with its slate-clad window jambs. A continuous window slashes across three of the facades on the upper floor, incorporating the study and the bedrooms into the surrounding landscape. The top plane which covers them is no ordinary roof. Its presence in the elevation is in the form of a brief concrete overhang, its slope is inverted to act as a rainwater collection tank – an ancient technique that guarantees the self-sufficiency of a solitary refuge in modern times.
017 Stone House
Tavole, ItalyProject 1982Realization 1985-1988
Set in an undulating landscape of abandoned olive groves, the three-storey house stands on a promontory, engaging part of a former stone terrace. The design concept of the house is based on the fusion of plan, elevation and section. The building is characterized by a cross, made visible in the construction of the side walls where the in-fill dry stone comes in contact with the reinforced concrete frame. The structure occupies the centre on the “piano nobile“, while on the top floor spaces are more interconnected. Here, the house rises above the trees, giving a panoramic view through the vertically articulated strip windows. This notion of extension has its equivalent in the opposite direction with the raised terrace and its pergola-like enclosure. The external wall infills are of slate-like rubble stones, the window shutters are of steel sheets and the door and window linings are of split slate sheets. On the whole, the detailing is spare.
Herzog & de Meuron, 1988