House AP

The House AP designed by GGA Gardini Gibertini Architects witness to the rebirth of an ancient rural hamlet situated on the top of one of the highest hills in Urbino, Italy, highly esteemed for its landscape and environment. The new system of buildings stands on ancient remains dating back to Medieval Communes. Linked to each other on the hypogeum level, the structures rest on a red concrete platform 38 x 20 metres, dominating the surrounding landscape.

  The core of the houses, which forms a single housing unit, reestablishes a central role to this site, restoring a direct dialogue between the new buildings and the historical stratification. The structures, in their stone shell, free from gutters or drainpipes, are offered to the landscape as pure shapes. If the project with its architectural compositions and rigor, faithfully interprets the typical formal themes of the Marche Italian region, its interiors call for contemporaneity with the treatment of the materials, the design of the plant and its furnishings. The fair-face reinforced concrete structure of the internal perimeter, creates space for natural light in and releases the volume from any other load-bearing element.

The functional program is arranged on three levels. In order to avoid the parking of cars and the sight of any means of transport at the garden level, the main entrance is located in the large garage in the basement. On the lower level, besides the technical and plant areas, there are all the main facilities: a cinema room, an exhibition gallery in the connecting space between the main building and its annex and a gym with an adjoining spa. From the basement, the staircase leads directly to the heart of the main building where the view opens up over the stunning hilly landscape and the swimming pool area.

The ground floor, completely projected towards the outdoors, has no continuity solution with the garden and hosts the living room, dining room, kitchen and a private studio space. On the first floor, arranged around a large balustraded landing, is the master apartment and two double bedrooms with their suite restrooms. The custom made furniture design, created entirely by GGA architects and made of natural walnut wood, hides service areas and plant and technology components. The annex, with its wooden frame structure, is a barn memory which is often a constant presence in this scenery.

A third building is located in the garden upon a little artificial hill. In its basement there is a storage room for the gardening equipment and a barbecue on the ground floor. This part of the garden, with its dis-aligned geometry made of Corten steps and grass, breaks from the severeness of the whole outdoor composition. The energy supply, which is only electrical, is guaranteed by an extensive photovoltaic system hidden in the grounds of the property and located at a distance from the buildings.

House AP, Urbino, Italy
Program: single family house
Architects: GGA Gardini Gibertini Architects
Collaborators: Andrea Bit, Carlotta Micheli
Structural engineering: Lorenzo Silvagni
MEP: Studio Silvagni & Zaccagni, Alessandro Gazzoni, Iet Impianti, Regini Termoidraulica
Main contractor: BBF Costruzioni
Total area: 13 ha
Project area: 1,080 sqm
Completion: 2017