FV House is the apartment for a cheerful girl who loves bright and bold colors. It is her family's home, a place dear to her and known for its strengths and weaknesses. A place she wanted to keep the memories of but also wanted to transform to make it her own, thanks to the project by UAIG architecture office.
The design and construction process has always been accompanied by pleasant memories, without these becoming an obstacle in imagining the new life of the house that will respond to new needs, functions, and ways of living. The apartment is located in a residential area of Palermo and is part of a complex of buildings in line from the 1970s, a result of the city's expansion towards the north.
The client had no specific functional requests other than maintaining a second bedroom for guests, a small study for herself, and storage space for clothes and shoes. From a design perspective, she completely relied on the design firm UAIG, specialized in the realization of restyling projects where the house before and after acquires a new light.
The client actively participated in the choice of furnishings and colors as the modus operandi of the same architectural studio, in continuous dialogue with the client.
Starting from the functional list and the idea of keeping a memory of the house, it was decided to preserve the overall existing layout, which was already efficient and optimal in relation to the size of the house and its orientation. However, the project involved modifying the traditional distribution system in which the entrance followed by a corridor cut longitudinally through the entire apartment. The corridor was eliminated in favor of the living room, which became larger and more livable. A reduced hallway was kept to serve the guest bathroom, a storage room, and the study, simultaneously creating the necessary containment volumes requested by the client.
Following the new way of living imagined by the client, the design studio configured more open and fluid spaces, while maintaining the functional separations that we deemed essential, such as the clear separation of the kitchen from the living area, as they are directly connected.
The separation between the “open” living area and a “private” area (bedrooms, study, and kitchen), which were once physically divided by a corridor, now occurs in a less rigid manner. The private, more intimate part of the house is protected by a “jagged line”, non-linear, inspired by the original sloping wall of the entrance door. This jagged wall, which highlights masonry volumes as if it were a “fortification”, contrasts with the regular, rectangular layout of the living area.
The two opposing parts are united by the texture and neutral color of the finishing materials of walls and ceilings and the uniform flooring. The latter, with its intense color, is the surface on which the various volumes contrast, and with the regular and aligned installation of resin-coated parquet slats, it creates a grid pattern to emphasize the contrasts between the volumes.
In the contrast created between the "fortification" of the intimate area of the house and the living area, an element that serves as a hinge was sought. The technical need to conceal a pillar was the opportunity to position a volume, formally autonomous, that with its mirrored cladding multiplied and at the same time united the two parts into a single visual perception.
Functional to the design concept, the choice of wall cladding textures and the use of flush-to-wall elements for doors and compartment doors were made to emphasize the volumes.
The Synthesis line by Eclisse was chosen for sliding doors and compartment doors, a solution already tested in other projects by the designers who appreciate its technical qualities, versatility, and ease of installation.
Furthermore, UAIG often customizes doors by working on the locks and crafting the handle to measure and by hand, as this element holds a value beyond mere functionality. Moreover, door panels painted on-site with the same finish as the walls are inevitably more delicate and prone to getting dirty: applying a vertical handle (which covers more heights of use) that is well-sized allows for the correct use of both sliding and hinged doors without damaging them through wear and tear.
