Villa Rihana | Luca Peralta Studio

The project concerns the functional, aesthetic and energetic redevelopment project of a single-family house and its external areas of relevance, positioned on the island of Malta in an isolated site far from urban centers.

The existing building, recently built with a masonry structure bearing local stone blocks, was introverted and bordered by wall fences that inhibited any visual relationship with the context. The villa provided for merged volumes without any value and compositional study, prospects without merit and lacking a coherent architectural language, a distribution of interior and exterior spaces very fragmented, not very functional and generally inadequate to the lifestyle of the new owner.

 
The spectacular sea view has suggested completing the building with the inclusion of two "horizontal planes" with a regular shape, parallel to the horizon line: in the upper part with the addition of a cantilever cover and in the lower part with the construction of a "plateau" almost suspended on the surrounding landscape.
 
• The cantilever roof wraps, links and connects all the volumes and all the internal and external spaces giving a new overall image. A plan with a simple and almost square shape, cladded on top with copper slabs seamed and inferiorly with teak wood slats, gives a new compositional harmony to the whole and as a new "layer" overlaps without imposing itself, generating the new without upsetting the existing one.
The coverage is presented in some sections with slight overhangs and other sections with significant changes (about 5m), some solid sections and some open, and then continue virtually in the crown of the ancient olive trees of the adjacent garden. All this allows us to generate new spaces covered outdoors, usable and sheltered from atmospheric agents and strong solar radiation, to frame spectacular views of the surrounding landscape and to integrate special systems in an efficient and at the same time discrete (lights, speakers, cameras video surveillance etc.).
 
• The "plateau", also of almost square shape, defines the areas of relevance of the villa usable in everyday life and is almost suspended on the surrounding landscape on the East and South-East sides, intercepts the "infinity pool" pool on the North and North-West side and a garden on the West and South-West side planted with large olive trees and typical Mediterranean shrubs.
The main interventions have foreseen:
• the demolition of the enclosure walls very close to the building and the annexation of new external areas of relevance, enclosed by low walls made dry according to the Maltese tradition, with the result of enhancing the spectacular views towards the surrounding environment and the sea;
• the creation of a Mediterranean garden with the planting of olive trees, carob trees and shrub species that are local and typical of the Mediterranean scrub;
• the creation of a highly performing casing with windows and thermal break windows characterized by high-performance glass, with opaque surfaces composed of an outer coating in Sardinian blond cork panels and ventilated façade made of Pietra Santafiora slabs (very similar to the local stone of the neighboring island of Gozo but with much higher mechanical properties);
• the reconstruction of all the water, electricity, thermal and lighting systems, the latter carefully studied also and above all from an architectural point of view;
• the inclusion of a new volume on the roof and a new internal distribution that allows the living area to expand towards the external spaces and towards the garden, blurring the boundaries of interior and outdoor spaces.
• an extensive use of natural materials like hard limestone, marble, travertine, basalt, corten steel, cupper, wood, ect allow to be harmoniously integrated with the palette colors of the Mediterranean landscape

PRODUCTS:

ENG Casalgrande Padana porcelain stoneware was chosen for the restyling of a house in Malta. We’re in an isolated area, away from urban centres, on the magical and mythological island of Malta, where you can admire a beautiful horizon over the sea. The functional, aesthetic, and energy redevelopment of this single-family home and its exterior spaces was entrusted to Studio Peralta Design & Consulting.

The spectacular view of the sea suggested the addition of two regular-shaped “horizontal planes” parallel to the horizon. This was achieved through a cantilevered roof on top of the building and a “plateau” at the bottom, almost suspended over the surrounding landscape.

The “plateau”, also with a nearly square shape, defines the outdoor living area. It looks almost suspended above the surrounding landscape on the eastern and south-eastern sides, opening to the infinity pool on the northern and north-western sides, and overlooking the garden with large olive trees and Mediterranean shrubland plants on the western and south-western sides.

The exterior flooring stands out for the extensive use of the stone effect porcelain stoneware tiles of the Pietra Baugè Beige collection. These tiles measure 60x60 cm, and 20 mm in thickness and are dry laid on gravel adjacent to the garden, glued to the screed on the “plateau” and laid on plastic feet in the ventilated covering of the terrace and roof.

A series of trims has allowed for elegant details, including tiles with half-round edges where the cuts on the flooring are made to harvest rainwater and convey it towards the rainwater tank, as well as trims for the steps, the edges of the “plateau” and the infinity pool made using pieces with a 45-degree cut and glued with a 90-degree overhang.

The porcelain stoneware tiles from the Pietra Baugè collection were chosen for their outstanding slip, stain, wear, abrasion, chemical, sea salt, frost, and thermal shock resistance, as well as their flexural strength and aesthetic qualities. The latter allows them to be harmoniously combined with other materials, such as Maltese dry stone walls, corten steel, siliceous gravel, bark mulch, Mediterranean plants, and swimming pool water.

ITA - Il gres porcellanato Casalgrande Padana è stato scelto per il restyling di un'abitazione a Malta, in un sito isolato e lontano dai centri urbani dove la vista si perde nell’orizzonte per ammirare il mare. L’intervento di riqualificazione funzionale, estetica ed energetica di questa casa unifamiliare e dei suoi spazi esterni di pertinenza, è stato affidato allo Studio Peralta Design & Consulting.

La vista sul mare ha suggerito di completare l’edificio con l’inserimento di due “piani orizzontali” dalla forma regolare, paralleli alla linea dell’orizzonte: nella parte superiore con l’aggiunta di una copertura a sbalzo e nella parte inferiore con la realizzazione di un “plateau” quasi sospeso sul paesaggio circostante.

Il “plateau”, anch’esso di forma pressoché quadrata, definisce le aree di pertinenza della villa fruibili nella quotidianità e si presenta quasi sospeso sul paesaggio circostante sui lati Est e Sud-Est, intercetta la piscina del tipo “infinity pool” sul lato Nord e Nord-Ovest e sul lato Ovest e Sud-Ovest, si affaccia sul giardino piantumato con grandi alberi di ulivo e arbusti tipici della macchia mediterranea.

Nella pavimentazione esterna, il progetto si caratterizza per l’ampio e differente utilizzo che viene fatto delle lastre in gres porcellanato effetto pietra della collezione Pietra Baugè Beige nel formato 60x60 cm e spessore 20 mm, posate a secco su ghiaia in adiacenza al giardino, incollate su massetto nel “plateau” e posate su piedini in plastica nella realizzazione della copertura ventilata della terrazza e del tetto.

Una serie di pezzi speciali ha consentito la realizzazione di dettagli tra cui le lastre con bordo a mezzo tondo in corrispondenza dei tagli sul pavimento per la raccolta delle acque meteoriche ed il convogliamento verso il serbatoio di raccolta, i pezzi speciali assemblati per i gradini, per i bordi del “plateau” e per il bordo a sfioro della piscina realizzati con pezzi con taglio a 45 gradi incollati a 90 gradi fuori copertura.

Le lastre in gres porcellanato della collezione Pietra Baugè sono state scelte per le caratteristiche di resistenza alla scivolosità, alle macchie, all’usura e all’abrasione, all’attacco chimico e al sale marino, al gelo, agli sbalzi termici e alla flessione oltre che alla qualità estetica, che le rende in grado anche di accostarsi in modo armonico con altre tipologie di materiali come la pietra dei muretti a secco maltesi, l’acciaio corten, la ghiaia silicea, la pacciamatura in corteccia, gli arbusti del mediterrano e l’acqua della piscina.