The project has matured by becoming aware of some fixed points. The current state of the buildings, also following the recent seismic events, does not allow a sustainable renovation; therefore a total reconstruction is proposed, thus making the complex anti-seismic with simple means at the regulatory level, the existing volume must be rebuilt; the roof must be pitched, with the gable visible on the side facades; the openings must follow the existing design.
Although it is a new construction, the building must maintain the atmosphere of the old farmhouse, the project must be integrated into the Marche countryside. At the same time, however, because it is a new construction, the design must be contemporary and not a caricature of an old building. A new entity is therefore sought between old and new.
For the main building, the plan follows the position of the current building. A precise rectangle is thus created where the long side is twice the short side (17.25 x 34.5 m). The shape of the roof is also the same as the original, and the openings are exactly the same position and size as in the current building.
The new volume, rebuilt entirely with the old bricks, is in any case a synthesis of the old (in terms of shape, material, position and size of the openings) and the new (renouncing all ornamentation, such as the stringcourses and the design of the eaves, which are integrated into the volume without any overhang).
The roof has a traditional shape (two symmetrical pitches), but with more contemporary details. The eaves channel is integrated into the roof; there are no eaves or pelmet overhangs; the roof is made of bricks instead of tiles. The result is a box with a very traditional external appearance, while the interior is a single space, modern and airy, with windows on two levels. Within this large single space, five volumes are inserted, extending up to the roof and supporting it.
These volumes have the dual function of both accommodating certain spaces within them (the most private and secondary functions, such as bedrooms, storage rooms, fitness room) and defining the areas between them (collective spaces, such as kitchen, living room, dining room).
This large interior space is characterised by a more modern materialisation: a rustic, ochre-coloured plaster is used both for the inner face of the perimeter walls and for the 5 new volumes and the ceiling. The internal ceiling (with many skylights) is also modern: it is treated in the same way as the sloping walls of the new volumes (these walls are always placed perpendicular to the sloping ceiling of the attic).
The floor of the large interior space is made of old terracotta bricks. The external entrance area to the north and the large terrace to the south are also made of old terracotta bricks. This creates an internal-external link.
The interior functions of the five buildings have a similar materialisation for all surfaces: ochre plaster for walls and ceilings, resin of the same colour for the floors. The external annexes are proposed with the same geometry as the internal volumes: a sloping wall perpendicular to the pitch of the roof. These volumes are made with old terracotta bricks, both for the walls and the roof.
The annex by the entrance is a guest house with living room and bedroom with bathroom. The annexe on the north-west is a covered loggia (unheated) and a storage room/technology/garden equipment room. The rooms in these annexes have an interesting light: the end walls have many holes (missing bricks), creating a lantern effect. The external layout is reduced. The aim is to recreate the atmosphere of traditional farms, rather than the atmosphere of a holiday home.
