House of traces | SET Architects

The apartment is designed for a young creative couple with the need to have a home with a terrace where
they can entertain friends, organize dinners and meetings while enjoying the mild climate of Rome.
The intervention is located in the Nomentano district characterized by an early twentieth century urban fabric
and specifically is located on the top floor of a corner building that strongly embodies the internal geometries.
In fact, the initial research phase focused on the study of the original guidelines deleting the obsolete elements
applied over the years. A critical reading of the traces left by time has led to the definition of the new floor plan
with an approach that takes in history while meeting the demands and needs of a contemporary space. The
whole intervention is structured on the principle of maximum fluidity of the paths and relations between inside
and outside.
The glass veranda that hosts the living room is conceived as the heart of the project and is placed in direct
relationship with the dining area but raised on a base. The fireplace is the element that characterizes the space
and becomes the family meeting place. The new window was designed with a very thin steel structure in order
to strengthen the relationship between inside and outside, thus creating a direct connection between the living
room and the terrace.
The kitchen is conceived as an independent room but in close relationship with the living area thanks to the
large custom made sliding doors.
Even the fixed furnishings are custom designed for the space such as the natural iron bookcase inspired by
the slender structures designed by Franco Albini in the 1950s.
The selection of materials was carried out with extreme care, favoring local materials such as basaltina and
travertino with which custom-made furnishings such as the base of the fireplace and the washbasins of the
bathrooms were made. For the coverings, marmorino was chosen, a natural lime-based finish in a pebble gray
color in order to give the walls a slight texture.
The material that characterizes the entire project is wood, used for the floor and the doors. It was decided to
use oak treated with natural drying oils in order to obtain a characteristic dark color. To increase the natural
character of the wood, an artisanal surface treatment called “Filo di lama” was chosen.