Simplistic in style, the space is a clear representation of a contemporary house cut into the rooftops of the historic layers of Genoa.
Simplistic in style, the space is a clear representation of a contemporary house cut into the rooftops of the historic layers of Genoa.
It is a transformation that does not succumb to the ego of the designer, but uses all the existing elements not as the background but as the creative idea itself.
The context is made of alleys of a true historical center, the light is the dazzling one of the slate roofs, golden surfaces oxidized by the sun reverberate through the windows of the house unexpected rays of light.
Entering through a small, 300 year-old door, the white lime finish of the walls guide you into a house that preserves the charm of a ruin combined with refined details and solutions that blend together; an ancient roof restored to perfection, wall finishing preserved and restored by expert hands just like for a monument.
Nothing monumental in the walls, woods and permanences of this house, only traces of the ordinary which, however, offer glimpses of the imagination of other times and other uses in a house a la page and sophisticated in its essentiality.
A black slate staircase leads to the living space, minimal and filled with light, a place of well-being and simplicity that transitions to outdoor spaces.
The city begins to reveal itself, showing its differences within a forest of roofs, towers, steeples and other terraces, some lush and some deserted.
Climbing one last staircase, after 10 floors, we are among the rooftops, in stark contrast to the dark, stone heart of the city below.
On the terrace, like on a ship’s deck, a wooden floor connects us to the warm materiality of the interior and brings us closer to the thought of the sea; the sea is not visible, but just like on the bridge of a ship it is difficult to forget that we are just a few meters away.
Genoa
2019
110 smq
Private
Concept design, design project, executive project, site direction
Arch. Matteo Rocca and Jacopo Battistini
Completed
Anna Positano