Residence with Sanitary Assistance / IPOSTUDIO Architects

Curated by ArchDaily

Architects: IPOSTUDIO Architects

The residence with sanitary assistance that will house 40 guests is located near the urban center of Torrita di Siena (Si). The site vaunts two scenic views of the surrounding landscape; on one side it overlooks the ancient center of Torrita, on the other the countryside towards the Trasimeno lake. The plot was sloping, with variable level curves from an altitude of ±0.00 to an altitude of +9.00.

- A clear and rational organizational logic of the internal functions, a spatial and architectural configuration aimed at creating a "collective house".

- A residence in which the guests may, as far as possible, enjoy the same living conditions as they did in their original homes, while keeping in mind that it is a matter of a collective residence.

- A building that relates to its surroundings coherentlywith the environmental andlandscape qualities, as wellas with the orograhpyof the site.

The project consists of the construction of a complex ontwo floors built on a natural slope in such a way asto exploit the inclination of the land and limit excavations to a minimum. The upper floor houses the principal activities of the sanitary residence as well as the two housing units, each with 20 beds; the lower floor will contain the general services an the technical areas.

The plan of the upper volume consists of a linear block with all the common facilities of the residence (living room and other shared areas, gym, sanitary services) dovetailed into the two housing units, each of which consists of two linear wings with rooms and relative bathrooms. The two wings are arranged symmetrically with respect to a central space, that houses the collective activities of each housing unit: living room, dining room, small shared kitchen, a central fireplace and a window opening to the terrace. The nucleus is therefore designed like a true "collective home" that centers on a large, bright and open central space for everyday life, that overlooks an outdoor area that may be used during the warm season. Each wing of room projects beyond the natural limit of the land, terminating in a loggia that opens towards the city. On the lower floor the linear body housing the services, partly built into the ground, is reserved for the personnel and features a free facade at road level with service entrances, and another facade against the ground, where corridors and lifts connect the two floors and allow an efficient distributive organization of the structure.

An L-shaped wall faced in terracotta closes the unit housing the common spaces towards the upper part of the slope, forming a large roof -almost an ample terrace, seen from the houses above - with openings of various dimensions that let light through to the area below. The L-shaped wall makes it possible to vary the height of the interiors: the main corridor that runs along the entire upper block of the collective activities and the main rooms of the residence have 5.10 m high ceilings, while the strip between the corridor and the main environments, housing service rooms, has an internal ceiling height of 3.1 0 m, because an accessible continuous technical area with channels and main installations is installed above it.

On the outside the body housing the collective activities is flanked by a continuous full-height loggia, interrupted by a series of openings corresponding to the windows behind. The main entrance, at the far end of the area housing collective activities, is covered by the projecting roof, and the same applies to the exit from the common living room, that opens towards the valley on the opposite side. Alongside the entrance the church projects with its "tower" volume: an empty shell inside which the natural light filters, contributing to characterize the public premises of the residential structure.