casa dell’angolo non retto
The project aims to expose the existing building through a series of simple interventions, avoiding unnecessary demolition. The energy cost of the renovation was carefully considered, focusing efforts on a limited number of selective interventions. The building retains its defining characteristics: elements that are not yet obsolete—such as the first-floor windows, terraces, and parapets—are preserved as they are.
The concept focuses on the corner of the house as a device mediating between interior and exterior, between dwelling and nature. The rotation of subtractive operations at the corner reveals unexpected opportunities. The spatiality of the corner is emptied while the structure is exposed; the imposing column rotates, disrupting its traditional logic. Light enters the corner through corrugated metal sheeting. The new steel downpipes connect ground and roof without bends, standing out against the façade as independent elements.
The project proposes an idea of sustainability not so much in constructive terms, but in the possibility of a different way of living—one in close contact with nature.
This project is part of ongoing research by Vacuum Atelier entitled “Super-Domus. A New Model of the Italian House”, included in Per una nuova casa italiana (Pisa University Press, 2022), published with the aim of redefining contemporary living by identifying both a design method and tools for intervention. Houses are understood as objects that often repeat themselves in the anonymity of their architectural expression, despite containing compositional elements. The intervention method is based on identifying the underlying compositional structure, from which the design action is derived—a synthesis of technical, formal, or spatial needs—through a catalogue of adaptive micro-interventions.
