SR HOUSE
The house as a sequence of thresholds
Function
Residence
type
New construction
Status
Completed
Location
Torricella (TA)
Just a few metres from the Ionian coast, in a transitional area between the built environment and the rural landscape, Casa SR explores the theme of the threshold as a principle for organising domestic space.
Just a few metres from the Ionian coast, in a transitional area between the built environment and the rural landscape, Casa SR explores the theme of the threshold as a principle for organising domestic space.
Site area
3.860 mq
Year
2020
Area
228 mq
The project creates a carefully calibrated system of transitions between interior and exterior, between shared spaces and privacy, and between openness to the landscape and the protection of intimacy. Materials, light and geometry combine to define a home suitable for a variety of uses, always finding a balance between collective living and private spaces.
Project team
Architecture and interiors: Martina D’Alessandro Architettura
Structural engineering: Studio Tecnico PRO.GEN S.r.l.
Services: Giuseppe D'Eredità, Engineer
Photo
Cosimo Calabrese
The need for balance
Conceived as both a holiday home and a base for frequent work visits, the house responds to the need to provide spaces suitable for hosting family and friends. The client was looking for a home capable of combining moments of shared experiences with opportunities for isolation, tranquillity and rest. This gave rise to a layout that does not strictly separate functions, but organises them through a progression of spaces with different degrees of openness and privacy.
Publications
Martina D’Alessandro (2021). A new way of dwelling, pp. 111–120. In: Carmine Gambardella (ed.
), WORLD HERITAGE and DESIGN FOR HEALTH, Le Vie dei Mercanti, XIX International Forum,
ARCHITECTURE HERITAGE and DESIGN Series 8, Rome: Gangemi Editore,
ISBN 978-88-492-4089-4
Martina D’Alessandro (2020). A new way of dwelling, pp. 30–31. Abitare la Terra, Quaderno 6, no. 54–55. ISSN 15928608, ISBN 9788849241020.
Exhibitions
“Decolonising the built environment” at the 2021 Venice Biennale, Italian Pavilion, curated by Alessandro Melis and Anna Serafini.
Relation and connections
The house is laid out on a single level and is organised around two main axes. The east-west axis connects the shared living spaces — the entrance hall, living room, swimming pool and annexe — through continuous travertine paving that runs the length of the building and extends the living room into the external space. Alongside this public sequence runs the north-south axis of the more private area, an internal path that connects the bedrooms and introduces a more intimate atmosphere, characterised by passageways, resting spots and viewpoints offering glimpses of the internal gardens.
The threshold as a principle of dwelling
The project defines a system of intermediate spaces that continually filters the relationship between the house and the landscape. The bedrooms do not face the main front, but rather small, intimate courtyards, whilst patios, white walls, openings and enclosures modulate light, views to the outside and levels of privacy. The building envelope, constructed from local tuff, contains and protects the dwelling, while the system of outdoor spaces — from the most enclosed courtyards to the open garden with a swimming pool — creates a continuous transition between interior and exterior. The outcome is a home in which each space finds its own level of openness, not through sharp divisions but through calibrated and coherent transitions.
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