Estia, the awarded hearth room by sa.und.sa

The project titled “Estia, la stanza del focolare” (the hearth room) by Italian architecture studio sa.und.sa architetti was created during a 2013 workshop coordinated by the Federico II University and won an honourable mention at the 2015 Architecture Sans Frontières (ASF) awards. A prestigious prize bestowed by this NGO to the young Italian architects.



Sara Omassi and Salvatore Carbone, the two architects of sa.und.sa who we already introduced to our readers in the past, are the recipients of an honourable mention as part of the 2015 ASF Awards given by the NGO Architecture sans frontières (ASF). The project that won them this award is Estia, the hearth room designed as part of their UPDATE operation in Senerchia, a municipality in Avellino, which was badly damaged by the 1980 Irpinia earthquake...the effects of which are still clearly visible 35 years down the track.





The design approach of sa.und.sa, which they developed during a workshop in 2013 coordinated by the Federico II University, is a virtuous example of participative architecture for the territory, which seeks to socially engage the population and to exchange positive energy. A tangible symbol in the fire of Estia, where the ruins of Senerchia are now home to what the architects call “an incubator of regenerating energy, which emerges “bottom up”, from vitality, from experience, from wisdom and from the desire for knowledge.





This project is for a new reality that embraces the earthquake and its consequences, so it's not a sentimental journey into past memories, but rather a proclamation for the future and for new ways of using design for people.
The “urban hacking” strategy applied here therefore becomes the keystone for both an architectural and a social transformation, where the local community is central as the responsible organisation that can take back possession of the public space and therefore become a proactive part of the decisions made with regard to that.





“Estia, la stanza del focolare” won an honourable mention in the ASF 2015 Award, rewarding the ongoing commitment that Sara Omassi and Salvatore Carbone have been showcasing for years, for responsible architecture.

Christiane Bürklein

PROJECT AND ORGANISATION OF THE WORKSHOP: sa.und.sa architetti 
COORDINATION: Federico II University, Architecture (Prof. Roberto Serino, Prof. Vito Cappiello, Salvatore Carbone) and sa.und.sa architetti 
CLIENT: Municipality of Senerchia 
WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS: Marco Bencivenga (tutor), Fabio Cappello (tutor), Giuseppina Cusano, Giovanni De Simone, Fernanda Della Mura, Alessia Elefante, Marika Esposito, Marco Fasolino, Sara Lombardi, Antonia Masullo, Fabrizio Mazzacane, Danilo Mereu, Vincenzo Paparo, Silvia Pepe, Maria Teresa Perna, Anna Rosati ,Francesco Sodano, Laura Sorrentino 
IMAGES: Fabio Cappello, sa.und.sa, Giovanni De Simone
VIDEO, DIRECTION AND POST-PRODUCTION Antonio Jr Guarino 
Link to projects: Beyond Ruins, UPDATE