VILLA ACM

SURROUNDED BY THE LANDSCAPE

The house is located on a hilly site near Marina di Ragusa. From this side of the hill you can enjoy a panoramic view towards the Mediterranean sea. The intervention fits into the land with a simple shape, an elongated rectangle separated by a central patio. The entrance is located upstream, inside a courtyard bordered by stone walls. It is an enclosed space planted with olive trees with a water basin in the centre, positioned right in front of the main entrance. A sculpture, a reproduction of a work by Giacometti, presides over and marks the access door to the house. The project, in plan, is structured in parallel bands. From upstream to downstream towards the sea, you have first the courtyard, then the rectangle of the house then the swimming pool area. The house has a roof garden, which is accessed by two external staircases, positioned on the side elevations. This garden on the roof becomes a large panoramic terrace which attenuates the impact of the volume on the surrounding area. Inside, a single exposed reinforced concrete ceiling contrasts with the industrial floor. Large windows connect all areas of the house with the landscape that slopes towards the sea. A few custom-made fixed furnishings, the kitchen and the bookcase wall which contains a fireplace passing through the master bedroom, are completed by various furnishings chosen by the owners of the house. A couple with a passion for design. A wine cellar is located in the basement, under the entrance hall. Figures representing the members of the owners' family are carved on the exposed rock that surrounds the cellar. An exposed reinforced concrete staircase connects the basement to the entrance level. The house, with a regular shape, has materials that refer to the place, such as the exposed stone of the walls on the side facades, but in contrast there is also the exposed reinforced concrete of the long shelter that runs parallel to the concrete base, suspended via a small detachment from the ground. The garden around the house was planted with local essences, carob trees and palms, trying to modify the pre-existing situation as little as possible. A long and high stone fence delimits the house from the access road. It constitutes a sign that, following the slope of the land, is projected onto the sea horizon. The architecture dialogues with the rural territory with refined contemporary forms that distance themselves from tradition. However, it is not a question of a violent detachment, but of a sensitive relationship of mutual valorization. The house enhances the surrounding landscape and is enhanced by the landscape itself, in a reciprocal relationship. It is the result that the architects proposed when designing the project, happily achieved by an architecture that represents the oxymoron of simple complexity, like the title of the recent book containing the studio's projects.