Set Architects has recently completed the renovation of a 200 sqm single-family house nestled in the countryside of the Municipality of Fondi, in southern Lazio. The project, emblematically titled “House with a square window,” arose from a young family’s request to transform an existing building, which already had its load-bearing structure, external infill walls, and a laminated timber roof. The primary goal was to meet the needs of contemporary living, reinterpreting a conventional spatial and volumetric layout through targeted interventions designed to introduce discontinuity and generate new spatial relationships.
The architects prioritized interiors characterized by open and fluid spaces, minimizing partitions. The living area is conceived as a continuous environment, articulated solely by the service core, which serves as a backdrop for the open kitchen. The existing staircase was freed from its original enclosing walls and reimagined as a sculptural and lightweight element, emphasized by a slender stainless steel handrail. Material selection plays a key role in the project: the continuous microcement flooring, natural oak surfaces, metallic elements, and light-toned walls work together to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, evoking the materials of rural tradition through a contemporary and measured expression.
The façades have been redefined through the insertion of new distinctive elements. On the upper floor, a large square window frames the surrounding landscape, becoming the iconic element that gives the project its name. Two large sliding glass doors on the south elevation open the living area directly to the garden, while the side elevations feature smaller openings to ensure greater privacy. A white plaster finish helps neutralize the building mass, offering an abstract and rarefied appearance. The alternation of different textures and slight setbacks around the openings creates a refined play of shadows and surfaces, subtly defining a thin, essential stringcourse. The garden design, with its concrete surfaces and a perimeter band of trees, further reinforces the dialogue between interior and exterior, protecting and filtering views towards the surroundings.
The intervention in Fondi returns a completely renewed building to its context. It is the result of a careful renovation process, reinterpreting the archetype of the country house through a contemporary lens, open to experimentation and cross-disciplinary influences.
