CASA 1886, 
Ostuni, 2019

This project is a story that flows through the ancient wooden doors, the recovered materials, the consolidated plasters, the history of people. The restoration of historic buildings is an extraordinary opportunity to confront history, with the construction techniques of the past, respecting the architectural quality, light and atmosphere that for over 150 years have wrapped a piece of the urban fabric. Every building with its leather is both urban exterior and interior to be lived in and like a dress, the project wanted to wrap the lifestyle of the new inhabitants, respecting their habits and connecting them closely to the spirit of the place. The house has a very simple plan that respects existing systems, environments defined in a traditional way but adapted to contemporary functions. The plants are all invisible and pass under the floors, guaranteeing even a high performance comfort. The main principle was to ensure that the restoration was carried out with minimum intervention and maximum delicacy. In the course of the works a series of traces of the past were found, frescoed walls, holes punctured over time, walled niches. With minimal intervention they restored with a particular attention to detail, to the lights, to the material effect of the plaster, to the treatment of wood and metals.

Interior design
The home is the home of life. Thus each environment with its history becomes a place of living: the kitchen is a convivial and intimate place at the same time, but capable of encouraging sharing, conversation, with particular attention to the connection between the pre-existence and the contemporary. The island kitchen was made of marble and acts as a counterpart to a table whose top is a veined, hollow root that relates to the surrounding landscape characterized by centuries-old olive trees of Puglia. The dining room overlooking the landscape and connected to the kitchen by a full-height opening is dominated by a fresco dedicated to the arts: music, painting, architecture, within a floral scheme typical of the late 1800s. The design of the house is the result of the fusion of ancient and contemporary pieces, a balance of colors, materials and pieces designed by the Flore & Venezia studio and produced by artisans.

Project published on