Mediterranean House | SET Architects

The project starts from the desire of the clients to recover a three-storey building from the 1950s in Gaeta, in southern Italy, to transform it into their summer residence.
The request was to create a project with a low budget but with a strong architectural identity with references to the typical elements of the houses by the sea.

The preliminary phase was dedicated to a meticulous research on the architecture of the mediterranean area and in particular on the typical vernacular houses that characterize the seaside towns of southern Italy. Following this research, white was chosen as the predominant color in order to highlight the pure volumes and the plastic forms enveloped by the warm light of the place.
The project establishes a strong link with the hilly landscape surrounded by the presence of the sea in the background. The new intervention in fact generates a series of glimpses and views obtained from a careful opening work obtained on the wall surface, thus generating real shots of the natural landscape.
The terrace is the heart of the intervention and was designed as a real open-air room protected by two high white partitions that define an intimate and private dress while being in an external area.

The large window allows you to create a close link between inside and outside by inserting the natural context of entering the home.
Natural light is the leitmotif of the entire project and takes on a fundamental value like the other materials used. On the lower floors, light penetrates the interior through the small openings on the building envelope and generates interesting contrasts between the illuminated areas and the shaded areas. On the attic floor the light invades the rooms through the large window while on the external terrace it reflects the white of the walls, generating a diffused whiteness typical of Mediterranean architecture.