丨意大利丨SET Architects

Architects:SET Architects

Area:200m²

Year:2025

Photographs:Willem Pab

Manufacturers:Ceramica Globo,Colma,Ideal Lux,Vema,mcz

Category:Residential Architecture,Houses

Design Team:Set Architects

City:Fondi

Country:Italy

Text description provided by the architects. The project involves the architectural completion of an existing structure, for which the framework and roof had already been constructed at the time of commission. The client requested a dynamic and contemporary home.

The design strategy focused on the insertion of specific architectural elements into a standard building shell, creating a deliberate contrast within the rigid original layout. At the plan level, enclosed spaces were kept to a minimum to ensure open, fluid living areas. The staircase was conceived as a sculptural feature, with partition walls removed to enhance its presence, and replaced by a lightweight structure with a slender stainless-steel handrail.

Material choices played a key role: a continuous concrete floor, natural oak wood finishes, and light-coloured walls referencing local materials create a tactile and balanced interior. For the façade, elements of contrast were introduced to disrupt the otherwise anonymous volume, most notably, a large square window and two sliding glazed doors on the main elevation, while more discreet openings were chosen for the sides. The façade was rendered in white to give the volume a neutral, abstract character, using plaster with varying textures to create subtle surface play.

Ultimately, the home transforms an incomplete structure and recontextualises it within the local landscape through a critical lens, reinterpreting the countryside dwelling from a fresh, contemporary perspective that embraces architectural cross-pollination.

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