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Raddoppi

Thinking of Rome, we think of its layers of time and spatial complexity.

 

‘Raddoppi house is no exception to this trend: a 90-square-metre flat -located in a historic building in Rome- that has been redefined through spatial illusions, refractions, plays of light and a new arrangement of the interior that is intended to remind people of the routes between the mazes and squares of the Eternal City. The centre of the work is a mass of steel and glass, with differentiated effects of transparency and opacity that cuts right through the space and houses the kitchen, study and master bathroom. The glass surfaces, some of which are mirrored, interact with the place in which they are set, producing reflected images that multiply and blur the limits of the space. This variety of views and outlooks is at the heart of the project, which is minimal in terms of its intervention but able to create a typically baroque effect of amazement. Around this nodal location there are four rooms, which guarantee continuity and circulation between the spaces with alternation between open spaces and more intimate and hidden passages. The walls of the flat are treated in a variety of ways. The original brick is brought back to light and associated with surfaces of grey cement, producing a complexity of materials that has narrative qualities. It speaks of the past of this place and establishes dialectic with the purity and geometric essentiality of the new glazed parallelepiped. The ceilings have been restored, exposing the wooden beams, whose texture has been enhanced by transparent varnish. The floor, on the other hand, has been re-laid using antique polychrome hexagonal cementine tiles that recall the neutral colours of the apartment. But the real protagonist is light, the warm and vibrant light of Rome, which is heightened by the reflections on the glass volume and reverberates on the surfaces.’

 

Text, courtesy of Emilia Giorgi

Raddoppi

Raddoppi

Rome, Italy, Private Apartment, 90 sqm

2014

2016 Finalist Project, The Plan Award 2016, category: Renovation