24-11-2017

Studio DiDeA Existenz Minimum: an origami house in Palermo

Studio DiDea,

Studio DiDea,

Palermo,

Loft, Apartment,

Metal,

Interior Design,

A little loft designed by Studio DiDea in a historic building in central Palermo in which custom-tailored solutions optimise the use of space.



Studio DiDeA Existenz Minimum: an origami house in Palermo

Studio DiDeA has transformed an old craftsman’s workshop in a historic building in central Palermo into a little loft apartment. The architects’ custom-designed solutions and furnishings ensure that everything has a place of its own; custom tailoring ensures optimal use of the available space and makes sure that the various functions required in a home reflect the building’s original architectural form.

It all started with a volume of pre-eminently longitudinal shape, 11 metres long and only 3 metres wide, covered with cross vaults and with very little natural lighting. The only sunlight in the house comes from two high windows overlooking an inner courtyard. This condition required measures for amplifying light: preponderant use of light coloured materials and limiting division of the space by function to the furniture. The volume is divided into two levels, with the living area on the ground floor and the bedroom on the first floor, and the architects put the bathrooms and walk-in closet – the only areas requiring dividing walls or tall items of furniture – at either end of the apartment. The key element that gives the apartment its character and links the two levels is the staircase. Its slate grey colour stands out clearly from the light-coloured walls and takes over the scene; on the lower level, it contains the custom-designed kitchen cabinets, cooker and dining table that complete the ground-floor living area. On the upper level is the bedroom, with its walk-in closet and bathroom, where appropriate lighting amplifies the whiteness of the vaults and returns light to the space.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Design: Studio DiDeA (Nicola Giuseppe Andò, Emanuela di Gaetano, Alfonso Riccio, Giuseppe De Lisi)
Location: Palermo, Italy

Images courtesy of Studio DiDeA www.studiodidea.it


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