Built in the small town of Avetrana, in Apulia region of southeast Italy, this reconversion of private two-family house is an attempt of re-establishing a missing dialogue between the past and the present of the traditional row house typology. The project of Rotterdam based NAUTA architecture & research is hinged in the mission of bringing back to light the original and special architectural features of the previous states of the building, such as generous vaulted rooms, the internal patio and traditional construction techniques.
Along the years the house -originally conceived with linearly connected large vaulted rooms in direct visual connection with the backyard patio- has been gradually turned into a modern configuration of corridors and rooms. When the design started some of the arches were covered and the original spatial configuration was drastically misshaped. While the ground floor suffered the limited dimension of the internal connections, too small to bring the light from the facades to the centre of the house, the upper floor, redesigned in the seventies after a fire, presented a modern inefficient layout with corridors and rooms. In order to optimize the use of the space and match it to the new lifestyle of a growing and dynamic family, yet preserve the essence of the original typology , the arch (intended here as an archetype) has been exploited in order to “achieve the effect of openness and space interconnection”. The arch thus became the main theme of the reconversion, applied in different sizes and proportions from the balconies in the patio to internal doors, from the varied range of openings to the main façade, in which a large main arch is extruded outwards, providing room for the front balcony.
The reappearance of the arches both inside and outside allowed for creating a new kind of spatiality, where rooms are merged and the spaces inside are to be read in linear sequence. By this end, arches and vaults provide an appropriate threshold that mediates the inner and outer parts of the house. Natural light permeates the house through internal and external windows allowing direct visual connection with the punctual trees of the patio. Like in almost all the mediterranean area, in traditional southern Italian house typology, the internal patio plays a crucial role in the construction of interior living space and in the social life of the inhabitants, as family gathering spot, or as an intimate place for relax, in strong contrast to the street.
Also materials and finish techniques have been crucial in the project: white stucco for the walls, providing a typical mediterranean atmosphere, travertine for kitchen and bathrooms, coccio pesto -an ancient technique consisting of a local mix of hydraulic mortar and terracotta grit poured directly on site- has been used for the floors. The project recreates a rustic, thrifty, somehow austere atmosphere, achieved by using innovative applications for traditional materials.
