Italian architectural firms A2BC Architects and SibillAssociati have designed the Farmhouse Restoration and Expansion in Riomaggiore, Italy. Completed in 2011, this old farmhouse was given a contemporary look while retaining as much original material as possible. The restoration and expansion of a farmhouse on the terraced hillside of Cinque Terre in Liguria focuses on the recovery and emphasis of original materials and construction techniques in a contemporary perspective. The main house has fully retained its structure and distribution while incorporating contemporary elements in substitution for the parts of the building that were not recoverable due to advanced stages of deterioration. New concrete paving unifies the spaces of the house, white plaster for the interior highlights the stone on the original bearing walls, and the new black window frames create a balanced contrast with the interiors of the house and the framing of the landscape. The furniture, refined but simple, plays on the combination of recovered and modern pieces, using colors that recall those of the surrounding landscape. Inside, the smallest spaces, the ‘garden rooms’ (the surface is approximately equal to Le Corbusier’s Cabanon at Cap-Martin) has no more than a bed, wc, sink, and shower. The scheme is repeated on two floors.
Photos by: Giovanna Silva
