Recycling materials and environmental sustainability are at the core of this project by LCA, custom-made for the clients
“Casa sei” [House six] or the “House of the Archaeologist”, designed by the firm LCA (Luca Compri Architetti), represents a perfect example of reuse, where architecture recycles both material elements and themes typical of architectural composition so as to create a zero-energy building that is fully sustainable. The construction is a single-family residence specifically designed for an archaeologist, hence its name.
Recycled materials and references to the past
From a volumetric point of view, the building is a simple parallelepiped with a rectangular base, interrupted by a series of cubic blocks, visible on the stone-clad facade. Matter emerges from the core of the project, the building is in fact reminiscent of the brick textures of ancient walls thanks to small reused fluted blocks instead of bricks, interrupted by marble blocks and slabs that identify the “boxes” characterizing the facade.
As stated by the designer:
We conceived a house with a predominant facade texture, alternated with monolith elements and travertine minerals, embedded in the pure volume of the building – these elements are visible in the design of the small loggia, the interior staircase and the pillars supporting the porticoes. We drew inspiration from the walls of old historic buildings, with the texture of red bricks interspersed with large architraves and light-colored cut stones.
A clear reference to the client’s passion for archaeology.
In terms of composition and distribution, the building has two floors above ground level: on the ground floor there is a large and bright living room with a kitchen, a dining room and a small bathroom, while on the first floor there are the bedrooms, two master bathrooms and the client's private study. Great importance was given by architect Luca Compri to the relationship between the interior and exterior, all the windows interact with the surrounding landscape, characterized by vineyards and cultivated fields.
Reuse and sustainability in the House of the Archaeologist by Luca Compri
Moving back to the main theme of the project, connected to reuse, the materials used for the “House of the Archaeologist” are all recycled materials from disused quarries or construction landfills. An idea that includes special attention to the building’s sustainability, while working on insulation, minimizing consumption and maximizing daylight.
A building whose expressive strength lies in its simplicity, the linearity of its shapes, its lightness and the whiteness of the interiors, the “minerality” of the built volume, the expressiveness of the blocks which break the facade texture. LCA suggests a reinterpretation of the past, a contemporary vision based on recycling materials and their reuse, to give them a new function and new life in the context of a new narration.
Masnago_1002 copiaPhotos courtesy of LCA Architetti
