On the Sardinian coast of Sulcis, in a small stretch of the Costa Verde coastline, a former tuna cooking facility today finds renewed breath and meaning thanks to the sensitive intervention of caarpa architettura paesaggio. The La California project works on the existing structure with a handcrafted approach and surgical precision, revealing the hidden potential of a minimal architecture that confronts the past without nostalgia and the present without compromise.
The space subject to intervention is a small residential unit of 60 sqm, developed on one level with a mezzanine. As often happens in holiday homes, the interior had been saturated to accommodate the maximum possible number of beds, compromising the original spatiality. La California aims to reverse this logic, restoring air, height, and proportion to the environment, freeing up the central volume, and enhancing what remains of the past: a reinforced concrete pillar that survived the transformations of the twentieth century, now a structural and symbolic node of the entire project.
The new spatial arrangement is defined by two opposing functional elements that organize the edges of the space: to the right, a custom-made kitchen in raw wood incorporates the volume of the bathroom; to the left, a bench in Orosei stone and prefabricated concrete serves as seating, an extra bed, and the base for the staircase leading to the mezzanine. Every gesture is calibrated, every material tells the story of the territory and its living matter.
Outside as well, the project introduces discreet and measured interventions: the patio is equipped with a system of brass pipes, providing an outdoor shower and renewing the connection between body, architecture, and the coastal landscape. The chosen finishes – grit and birch – are the result of field research aimed at identifying alternative solutions to the traditional Viettian canon, offering a fresh and contemporary interpretation of the local identity.
A small but paradigmatic intervention, like a silent gesture capable of profoundly influencing how space is inhabited and a place is narrated.
caarpa architettura paesaggio
Founded in Genoa in 2017 by Valeria Arena, Marta Bozzano, Marta Carraro, Francesco Forni, Alessandro Parodi, and Fabrizio Polimone, caarpa is a multidisciplinary studio that works on the relationship between architecture and landscape, prioritizing the requalification of existing structures in morphologically and historically complex contexts. Their artisanal approach translates into tailored projects capable of engaging with locations and enhancing their uniqueness.
For more info: www.caarpa.it
CREDITS
Project: La California
Architect: caarpa architettura paesaggio
Location: Costa Verde (SU), Italy
Year: 2023
Photography: Anna Positano/Studio Campo
