In Formigine, in the province of Modena (Italy), Ambientevario transformed a building built during the 70’s – originally used by a blacksmith as his laboratory – into Casa Vivaio, an unconventional residence redesigned for a new function.
First of all, the presence of the original joinery within it, which had been there since the early 70’s, has been reduced. As a result, a wider space is now able to evoke in whoever is passing by not just the warm feeling of a welcoming house but moreover a sense of being fully submerged within the local culture and history, wrapping them within the atmosphere of an artisanal studio.
Subsequently, the will of not changing the original nature of the building has had an impact also on the material’s choice. The materials that had been chosen for the interiors are in fact concrete, brick and iron, all strategically exposed in a visible position and emphasized by the wide windows.
The area is mainly occupied by the building. Due to this reason, the green areas have been allocated within the building. A large patio allows the expansion towards the centre of the house and is however still able to maintain enough privacy for the inhabitants.
The space of Casa Vivaio is exceptionally wide, making the patio a point of interval and also a connection point between the living area and the sleeping area. The choice of maintaining the hedging joints in the patio emphasizes to a greater extent the original atmosphere of the place.
In the exterior part of the building, exactly as in the interior, the aim is to conserve the artisanal laboratory taste, mainly enabled by the choice of completely exposed brick. The visual impact is however purposely distracted by the green elements and trough the heavily armed concrete volumes, which tend to reflect some vessels which are present both in the interior and exterior parts of the building and therefore are able to be noticed not only by residents but also by bystanders.
