The speaking architecture by architects Étienne-Louis Boullée (1728-1799) and Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806) was able to communicate its civil function through pure forms. Spheres, cubes, cylinders and pyramids were placed in ideal landscapes to create suggestions that went beyond functionality. These visions, which were the forerunners of Modern Architecture, inspired the studio Malfona Petrini Architetti, which with The Red House pays homage to the House for the Barrels Manufacturer that Ledoux designed in 1773-1775.

In Formello, in the northern countryside of Rome, the architects have completed an elongated building with a rigorous and solemn porticoed space. The garnet red of the plaster is obviously reminiscent of that of the buildings in the historic centre of the capital. The volume of the house is separated into two parts by an open space with a swimming pool. In this way a small service volume is created, used as a kitchen or dressing room, closing the lot and framing the surrounding bucolic landscape.