A
young couple with a little girl asked the architect Nicola Auciello, who they employed to refurbish their apartment, to free their prospective home from the dark, pull down unnecessary walls, increase light and to give real meaning to the term “spacious”. The result is a bright free-flowing space. Two large spotlights on the floor are the focal point of the apartment. They are actually two “carpets” in golden-yellow resin that bring to mind the sun, a joyful addition. These spotlights indicate where the original poky corridors used to be.
The living room is in between the kitchen on the left-hand side and the entrance on the right-hand side, the bedroom door is in the background. The passage between different rooms is right in the middle of the home, here the bright golden-yellow resin rectangle stands out on the oak floor. Left-hand-side Essential Scorrevole glass sliding door by Scrigno.
Boxed in by internal walls and with only a few windows, the apartment was dark and stuffy, despite being 90 sqm wide and having a roof terrace of approx. 40 sqm. This is almost incredible, especially if you take into account that we’re close to the sea. However, as the architect tells us, the north-facing waterfront in Rome is for the most part an urban conglomerate that has neither identity nor heritage, apart from being built during the property speculation of the 60s and 70s, which often didn't take into account of the quality of the interiors.
The entrance is identified by a marble doorstep and strong lighting, which stresses the fact that you’re crossing an important threshold: as if to say, you’re home here. The String Light Sphere head lamps by Flos frame the living room.
Refurbishing this apartment was like chiselling a block. Nicola Auciello sums it up as “subtraction, amplification, deconstruction and layering”. By getting rid of the unnecessary walls in order to expand the space, the architect has recreated different zones by adding contrasting materials that could be read instantly: yellow resin on the floor, and the Calcatta Oro marble for the vertical and horizontal interstices, which decorates and delineates the passages between spaces. The new free-flowing plan is accentuated by pocket sliding doors by Scrigno, and doors that open at 180 degrees. They open or close different areas and itineraries like mobile diaphragms.
Modern and classic, elegant and light at the same time, the strong character of the north-facing waterfront in Rome is the result of a long and accurate research. “The houses of today need to be bathed by light inside, because often there is not enough light outside”, this is Nicola Auciello’s motto, who has designed every inch with great personal involvement. For the owners’ delight, the efforts were rewarded: an extra-speci al type of light is felt immediately, the great attention paid to every single detail makes this apartment feel even more special and precious.
Design project
Renovation and interior design of an apartment by the sea
Location: Litorale Nord, Rome, Italy
Counter frames, sliding doors and single-hinged doors:
>> Scrigno Brand Channel
www.scrigno.en
Interior design:
na3 Studio di Architettura
Architetto Nicola Auciello
www.na3.it
Photos:
Courtesy Scrigno,
na3 – Studio di architettura
