Ciclostile Architettura redesigns a rural house following permaculture principles

The old farmer's house, isolated on one of the Bolognese Hills, Italy, has been transformed by Ciclostile Architettura into a contemporary house that delicately complements the structure of a renovated barn. The building is based on the idea of permaculture, i.e. "an integrated, synergistic system that makes the best use of all resources without damaging the natural environment. These are general principles that the client adopts for his agricultural activities, but which can easily be applied in our field," the three Bolognese architects tell us. At Ca' Inua, architecture and work follow the same principles.

“Kainua is the ancient Etruscan city that stood near the current town of Marzabotto. Ca’ is a reference to the typical toponyms of mountain farmhouses. Inua is an Inuit language word that means ‘the essence of all things’, it is a spiritual concept that unites all beings and that is the principle of harmony between the living. The phonetic form of the Inuit term is the farm logo,” say the architects. For the stone base the stones from the demolition of the old house have been reused. The new volume has a structure of X-Lam panels and rests "gracefully" on the stones forming an overhang in a corner. The cladding is made of burnt wood, a technique linked to the territory but also practiced in different parts of the world.

Inside Ca' Inua we find a dialogue between "hard" surfaces (the cement of the underground portion of the living area, the mosaics in the bathrooms) and "soft" surfaces (fir wood used as floor and wall cladding). These contrasts recall the essentiality and austerity of rural life. Each element is optimised to respond to a specific need and denounces it with honesty through the material.