MORQ frames calabria landscape with villa RA: the 'house that looks'

with the villa RA, italian architecture studio MORQ proposes an alternative approach to dwelling in the rural landscape of calabria. through its spatial organization and materiality, the traditional yet contemporary house creates a visual and tactile continuity between landscape and architecture to preserve the beauty of its context. both monochrome and vibrant, the transforming villa RA shifts in hue throughout the day in response to sun and land, revealing movement through shadows and ever changing material nuances.

image and banner © givlio aristide

rooted among the ridgelines of the rugged mediterranean landscape, MORQ conceives the villa RA as a ‘house that looks.’ the compact structure is punctuated by openings which frame the landscape and generate a dialogue with its natural context, characteristics typical of a mediterranean dwelling who’s central role is to express a relationship with the place, rather that act as an unrelated autonomous object. while not formally mimicking the landscape in order to feel at ease with the site, the project draws from the tradition of the italian villa and the material tones of the land on which it is sited.

image © givlio aristide

the material articulation of the interior and exterior space is resolved within a solid volume. an homogenous architecture of ‘cocciopesto,’ a type of plaster which chromatically blend with the soil, had been developed through rigorous sampling and trials. grounded to the site not only by the tone of the cocciopesto, the project is nestled amongst a bed of crushed, local sourced stone which further blurs the boundaries between the architecture and the land. the surroundings of the villa unfold cinematically through framed openings which further serve to facilitate cross-ventilation along the axis of the house. the thermal mass of the thick walls mitigates the passing of hot days and cool nights, whilst deep openings prevent an overexposure to the direct sun.

image © givlio aristide