GRIECOUNO

On the first outskirts of Bologna, close to the hills that embrace the city, a residential neighborhood built since the 1960s has taken shape, replacing the old textile mills.

The regular mesh of the building’s reinforced concrete structure made it possible to devise an intervention of total demolition of the apartment’s interior walls, allowing for a large open space. Given the composition of the family living there, it was necessary to carve out a large living area for daily activities, cozy and spacious, but at the same time subdividable to reserve a part that can be converted into the “extra” room.

The sleeping area is separate, with versatile spaces and rooms, adaptable and able to accommodate future transformations in family habits. By bringing the supporting structure to bare and having to redo all the systems also in accordance with a major energy upgrade, it was possible to start from scratch, designing on a blank sheet of paper a manifesto of domestic flexibility.

The clear separation between the living and sleeping areas was achieved by designing, instead of simple partitions, a wooden spine, a wall-cabinet, open to both the living area and the bedrooms and hallway. The house revolves around this custom-designed element: within the study-room, a third storage unit was made with a drop-down bed; the configuration of the study with a simple gesture can change to become a guest room or one of the children’s rooms.

The house is equipped with a home automation system to manage lights, blackout systems and the heating and cooling system.