Category: Housing
VILLA IRACI

MISTERBIANCO (CT) - ITALY

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This corner home in the historic centre of Misterbianco, not far from Catania, is built on two levels. It is a compact L-shaped volume closed off to the outside and open onto the inside with a large window two storeys high. City and courtyard, outside and inside, public and private.

"A world within the world" reflecting the influence of Arabian culture on the traditional Sicilian lifestyle. The construction skilfully plays with light, with views from the outside in and vice versa. The exterior is characterised by skilful use of materials: white plaster, lava stone, wood and steel.

Inside, in the courtyard, white volumes dialogue with one another, and the presence of wood and grass gives everything a warmer feel. Light is reflected, absorbed and filtered. One of the keys to the design is visual and material continuity of space in light. The patio is like an "open-air room" around which the other rooms and people revolve.

From here we walk through the vegetation to the sauna via an outdoor staircase with steps that appear to be suspended in the air. On the ground floor, characterised by highly fluid spaces created by an almost total absence of doors, designer furniture alternates with items made by skilled cabinet-makers. A big black cabinet provides the backdrop for the dining area.

The kitchen, the true heart of the home, is characterised by a complex play of volumes.

The room is connected with the outdoors via a large window that does away with the boundary between inside and out. Glossy white resin shines brightly on the floor.

The two levels of the home are linked by a stairway to the bedroom area, which is given a private, relaxing feel by use of wood to underline certain parts of the furnishings, matt glass for privacy and, once again, light, both natural and artificial.
Attention to details and materials reveals that nothing has been left to chance. The home becomes a place of wellbeing.

From >D'Architettura n°29

VILLA IRACI MISTERBIANCO (CT) - ITALY

Year: 2005
Square Meters: 80
Architects: Arch. Antonio Iraci
Studio: Studio Archline
Products used: 120x60 Michelangelo Statuario Polished



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