Farm Holiday Center

The gray "beola" stones set in courses of different sizes allow the buildings to adapt to the natural landscape.

Project Details

• Project Name: Farm Holiday Center
• Client: Azienda Agrituristica Fattoria di Vibio
• Project Type: Architectural design
• Principal Designer: Firouz Galdo, Filippo Felli
• Design Team: Officina Del Disegno Srl
• Year of commencement of project: 2002
• Year of completion of project: 2004
• Location of site: Todi (Perugia), Italy
• Site Area: 1800 square meters
• Built-up Area: 600 square meters
• Cost of Construction: 1,200,000 Euros

External view of the building housing the new indoor pool.

The Building

The project involved the realization of two buildings annexed to an existing farm resort.

The first of these was envisaged as a space for the display, sale and promotion of local farming products and for the organization of training courses in food, farming and culture.

The second building was to house an indoor swimming pool used primarily in winters when the existing outdoor pool could not be used.

Interior view of the indoor pool space.

The access to the two new buildings is via a small staircase at the midpoint of which the user can access the locker room with restroom facilities and a massage room via an additional set of stairs, or the entrance of the show room.

The design attempts to establish a dialogue with its surrounding environment by borrowing from it. The natural and the artificial blend into a singular realm in the design which plays with the very definition of 'landscape'.

Reflections off the glass and water help visually merge the interiors with the natural surround.

The first building was realized as a single storey structure in reinforced cement. The edge facing the valley is entirely glazed with sliding glass doors that allow a strong visual connect with the exteriors.

The north and south facades are clad in different sized courses of stone. The gray "beola" stones used allow a perfect integration with the landscape in terms of both -- its textural and visual qualities.

These courses of different sizes are fit without joints and accentuate the length of the surface and simulate the natural stratification of the surrounding terrain.

This principle of stratification is also extended to the flooring, staircase and door thresholds in the design creating a 'handmade monolith'.

The roof is treated as another facade and not just a covering. It is clad with strips of zinc-titanium that adopt the color of its surround further blending the structure into its context.

View of the lighting elements on the roof garden which double up as seating surfaces.

The second construction, the indoor pool, is locked in by the natural slope of the site and opens towards panoramic views into the valley below.

The use of infinity pool borders coupled with the reflections on the glass and water creates an interesting two way visual connect. From within, the pool appears as an integral part of the natural surround but emerges sharply defined when viewed from outside.

The pool is made of mosaics such as is found in Turkish baths, while the relaxation area is realized in cement.

The design attempts to establish a dialogue with its surrounding environment by borrowing from it.

The roof garden reduces visual segregation from the environment to a minimum thus rendering invisible that which is man-made to the observer viewing the buildings from the above the terrace.

The only elements emerging out of the ground are the eight roof lights which also double up as seats.

The various spaces and volumes are thus delicately inter-woven with the context but are staged at the same time.

Credits

• Text: Courtesy of the architect
• Photographs by Luigi Filetici, courtesy of the architect
• Compiled and edited by Varun Ajani