House in Cilento
Fornelli, Italy (2020)
The reconstruction of a collapsed 18th century farmhouse on a steep terraced site overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea in a small village two hours south of Naples. The ruin was completely disassembled and a concrete seismic frame built to anchor the three-story volume; the new structure was re-clad with the original stones, which were also used to restore the terracing across the site. The entry level comprises a large main room and kitchen organized around a central fireplace with an adjacent guest room and bath. On the second level, the main bedroom and a large studio frame an exterior terrace; the third level adds one more bedroom with its own terrace. A continuous stair connects all three floors. The upper levels of the site are planted with olives while the lower terrace includes a swimming corridor.
Traditional construction techniques were adapted to incorporate a number of passive heating and cooling strategies: the house backs into the hill on the north while the south-facing walls create a substantial thermal mass; aligned east/west apertures provide continuous natural ventilation at every level, augmented by the open stair well. The 22” thick stone walls are insulated with a compressed cellulose panel and finished on the interior with a ‘breathable’ plaster that maintains constant humidity across the section. Low-E coatings on double-glazing within slender, thermally-broken steel frames reduce heat gain while allowing for substantial natural light to penetrate the volume. Solar panels and a heat pump provide for all hot water as well as the in-floor radiant heating.
