Portelle Building, Sicilian Architecture, Italian Rural House Project, Design
FCN 2009 Portelle: Sicily Architecture
Sicilian Residential Building, Italy – design by M Guiseppina Grasso Cannizzo
28 Aug 2013
FCN 2009
Design: M Guiseppina Grasso Cannizzo
Location: Portelle, Sicily, southern Italy
FCN 2009
REQUESTS OF CLIENT
– sea view
– covered outdoor area
– relationship with the farmyard
– minimum internal height 3m
– safety
– low budget
CONCEPT
The considerations on the nature of the site (a bench of clay with a steep slope), the functional programme, the essential requirements, and the limited budget are the fundamental basis for the idea of the project:
1) Setting the building at the same height of the farmyard raises the walking level over the country level, and therefore assures a larger view of the sea, the possibility of using the farmyard as an outdoor space at the house’s disposal, and the flow of meteoric water
2) Reducing the passage spaces and introducing a caravan (a mobile volume) it is possible to enlarge the needed cubature to start the required functional programme, according to the rules
3) Using prefabricated elements facilitates the access to the site and accelerates the construction stages, also reducing the costs.
PROJECT
The building is composed by two independent constructions: a container-volume, made with prefabricated elements of reinforced concrete and intended as the master’s house (A), and a mobile volume, with an iron structure, intended as the guest residence (B). The entire building, compact during the prolonged closing period, when in use can be split up and therefore enlarged. The mobile construction, moving along two rails anchored to the structure of reinforced concrete, changes the configuration of the entire building widening the view of the sea, while during the long closing period it can be incorporated in the container-volume, becoming an anti-burglary device. The presence of opposite openings ensures natural ventilation and provides various views of the sea and of the country. The use of insulating board and wood ventilated wall ensures a suitable comfort.
Areas:
Total built area: 115 m2
Total floor area: 86.5 m2
Cubature: 352 m3
Office / Architect: M G GRASSO CANNIZZO / Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo
Collaborators: ICP SRL , G.M.G Engineeing Project, PRO.GE.CO, Salvatore Ingrao
2 Jul 2012
FCN 2009 Portelle
Design: M Guiseppina Grasso Cannizzo
FCN 2009, Portelle, Sicily, Italy
RIBA Awards 2012 Citation:
Situated on the side of a hill, in a seismic area, this is a lesson in freshness of thinking, invention and in the inseparable nature of structure and architecture.
An apparently solid plywood-clad box floats above the site, pitched so as to enjoy the horizon and the distant sea. It prises open by means of a movable guest-wing, mechanically operated, which slides away to reveal a terrace and a glass wall to the main house. The main fixed element of the house is constructed in prefabricated concrete.
photos : Sudio Grasso Cannizzo
FCN 2009 Portelle – Building Information
Title: FCN 2009
Practice: Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo
Client: Federica Cimatti
Photographs: Hélène Binet
FCN 2009 Portelle – RIBA Awards winner, 2012
FCN 2009 Portelle images / information from RIBA
Location: Portelle, Italy, southern Europe
Sicily Architecture
Contemporary Sicilian Architectural Selection
Sicily Architectural Designs – chronological list:
House A236, Palermo, north west Sicily
Architects: studio DiDeA
photograph © Studio Didea
House A236 in Palermo
New Banca di Credito Cooperativo Auditorium, San Cataldo, Sicily
Design: FABBRICANOV
photograph : Filippo Romano
New Auditorium in San Cataldo
Tritalo Hamburger Restaurant, Palermo, Sicily
Design: Studio DiDeA Architetti Associati
photograph : Studio DiDeA Architetti Associati
Tritalo Restaurant in Palermo
The new Colombarium of Campofranco, Province of Caltanissetta, central Sicily
image : OFL Architecture
Colombarium of Campofranco
Seaview Apartments in Palermo, Sicily
Ri.MED Biomedical Center Sicily
Italian Architecture Designs
Contemporary Italian Architectural Selection
Italian Architectural Designs – chronological list
Comments / photos for the FCN 2009 Portelle page welcome