Demolition project of an existing building and construction of a new residential building and underground parking lot - 2023 under construction
The project involves the demolition and reconstruction of the reference building, constructed around the 1930s, located along Via Libero Alborno in the Latte area, along the terraces of the first hill. Its renovation is impossible due to the existing load-bearing structure (seismic retrofitting), which is cracked in some areas, clearly visible in the attached photographs and the report by engineer Andrea Marino. From a typological perspective, the house appears to be a typical Ligurian country house intended for farm work, with simple, square shapes and no particularly valuable features. The existing structure is clearly visible and positioned within its surroundings. Current access is pedestrian and vehicular, accessible to small vehicles, and is via a small walkway built before 1967. The topography of the land is characterized by medium- to large-sized terraces and strips. The retaining walls, made of exposed local stone, and parts of them appear to have collapsed due to weather and the presence of wild animals, such as wild boars. The area is covered in brambles and wild vegetation. There are no particularly valuable trees, except for a few olive trees, poorly maintained and now clearly abandoned. The need for environmental redevelopment of the property and the surrounding land is more than necessary, mandatory, also to ensure environmental protection of the entire area, as the surrounding area is made up of small residential clusters built in a scattered pattern throughout the land, thus reducing the risk of fires, especially in the summer months, or the nesting of wild animals. The building in question is isolated, arranged on two levels, with a maximum height at the eaves of 8.10 m. It has a hipped roof made of Marseille tiles, yellow ochre plaster, and wooden shutters in the typical wagon-green color. There is another small building nearby used as a storage/warehouse, partially in ruins, with the rubble still clearly visible. The project therefore involves the complete demolition and reconstruction with an increase in volume (application of the "Piano Casa" law) of the current building, while remaining within the height, typology, and volumetric dimensions associated with the existing structure. This is a new volume rebuilt on the same site as the current one (see comparative plan graphic). The new building will be two stories above ground, also arranged on two levels, thus maintaining the dominant pre-existing heights without altering the already well-established situation over time. The new structure will have a simple, linear floor plan. The typology will reflect the typical Ligurian house, with vertical openings and darkening with narrow, wagon-green slatted shutters. The proposed terraces will be finished with pergolas that will be used to support climbing plants, thus integrating the entire project more closely into the existing rural setting. The roof will be hipped with Marseille tiles. The facades will be finished in yellow ochre plaster (as is the existing one) so as not to alter the landscape. Despite increasing the volume of the existing structure, the new project, in our opinion, has a lower impact because the new residence features "broken" volumes and is integrated with green pergolas, as well as a maximum height at the lower eaves. The final building will have a traditional appearance with local elements and the inclusion of some more contemporary typological solutions to bring it up to date with the time of construction. Access will be via a new path of a constant width of 3.00 m with direct access from Via Libero Alborno. Its development will follow the natural course of the existing terraces, thus reducing and balancing the ratio between excavation and fill. To reduce the impact of the new path, part of it will be buried to allow for the use of a green roof and to fill the access trench to the underground garage. (See attached general project plan). All new walls will be clad in exposed local stone, and the existing ones will be restored, as will the slopes, secured by rebuilding the old collapsed walls. The primary goal of this project will be to create a connection between the Latte area and the culinary students from the University of Brussels, who will be hosted as residents, thus creating a synergy of new and typical flavors of Western Liguria. Part of the land will be transformed into a garden with typical local plants, and part will be replanted with olive trees. Some areas will also be converted into vegetable gardens.