In the countryside not too far from the city of Bologna, there is a barn from the 1960s that has been turned into a workplace for an Italian artist. A renovation with a strong appealing that has transformed a workplace into an experimental and narrative environment where the light and surrounding hills shape the architecture of the building.

Elegantly overhauled by Bologna-based architecture firm Ciclostile Architettura, the appearance of this building is not just stunning, but the inner spaces reveal their features of unordinary building. Planimetric distribution of places on the ground floor includes all the main rooms and rest rooms, in order to completely free up the first floor and dedicate it to a large open space overlooking the landscape, taking advantage of existing heights to get a bright and ventilated space.

Named FPA / Francesca Pasquali Archive, another fundamental element of the project is symmetry. The structural shape of the ground floor is given by a reinforced concrete structure with two rows of pillars marking the plan. In fact, the project started from the pillars to rearrange the rooms, and following the needs of the client.

The architects have decided to divide the area into three parts: two wider spaces characterized by a laboratory and a study, and a third dedicated to services that become a filter zone between the two main spaces.

A third fundamental aspect of the project is the relationship with the landscape, which is pursued through a greater visual connection. In fact, this aspect is translated into the transformation of the facades, with the creation of large openings to increase the internal-external relationship in the first floor space. 

This renovating project is a clear example of how creativity can give new life to an old barn, making it a stunning workplace with a clear identity where architecture is a marriage of art and pragmatism. 

All images © Fabio Mantovani

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