Farmstead Refurbishment

Carlo Bagliani

ARCHITECTSROJECT TEAM
Carlo Bagliani

LOCATION
Gavi, Italy

CATEGORY
Renovation

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Carlo Bagliani

PHOTOGRAPHS
Anna Positano, Carola Merello

COLLABORATOR
Antonio Norero

PROJECT YEAR
2011

Purpouse of the refurbishment is the contemporary reutilization as home for vacation of a XVII century farmstead.

The simple parallelepipedon form and the sheer size of the building, together with the overlooking position towards the “cortese di gavi” vineyards lead to a special respect of the building as it was.

All the design guide was to bring back all the old things still inside the farm (like old doors, the large wooden beams of the roof, and even the allocation of rooms and stairs), trying to reach the original atmosphere of the rural culture.

Then it seemed adequate just to integrate what was necessary with simple contemporary elements (floors in concrete just coloured/mixed with oxide, some linear door, steel windows, steel kitchen furniture, steel switches ).

All the walls, outside and outside were covered with hydrated lime, without painting, this way all the building looks like a solid monolith made of soil, and the space inside are shady and good for meditation.

Lighting was mainly realized with two types of lamps: a linear neon light for bathrooms and stairs, a portable hooked lamp for rooms. Furniture, like sofas and beds was mainly designed specifically for the farmstead, with the same purpouse of rural simplicity.