Rome-based architecture and design studio STUDIOTAMAT has completed the renovation of an apartment with raw, unfinished interiors, geometric tailor-made interventions in Tor de' Cenci, in the southern suburbs of Rome, Italy.

Named Rude House, the 120-square-metre house is a brutalist-inspired apartment overlooking the Castelporziano Nature Reserve and redesiged with a breathtaking and distinctive character with strong materialistic touches.

Dining room and kitchen. Dining chairs: Livoni – Dorothea model; custom designed table with a ceramic leg; lighting: GANlight – Oxidised copper model; custom designed kitchen; kitchen track spotlights: Aria Light/Ivela

STUDIOTAMAT designed this house for a young couple of lawyers, as they wanted a bright, open and characteristic house. The house features large windows with a 40-square-metre equipped terrace that allows the abundant natural light and lets the gaze wander towards the greenery, up to the Roman coast.

Dining room and kitchen. Dining chairs: Livoni – Dorothea model; custom designed table with a ceramic leg; lighting: GANlight – Oxidised copper model; custom designed kitchen; kitchen track spotlights: Aria Light/Ivela

"We are originally from Sicily and felt the need to reconnect with nature, which is why we moved from the center to a more marginal area, surrounded by woods and not far from the sea," said the owners. 

"Since we moved to Rome we have always lived in small, cramped apartments with artificial materials. We wanted a bright, open house that privileged the uniqueness - sometimes even imperfect - of the materials," they explained.

Dining room and kitchen. Dining chairs: Livoni – Dorothea model; custom designed table with a ceramic leg; lighting: GANlight – Oxidised copper model; custom designed kitchen; kitchen track spotlights: Aria Light/Ivela

"A tactile experience of architecture"

The studio harmoniously combined different tones, moods and textures, stimulating "the tactile experience of architecture." 

Utilising the clean and elegant lines, these features balance the raw aspect of the coverings, such as the terracotta of the kitchen or the perforated brick wall, with a typically artisanal taste, which divides the living area from the study. 

The cement on the ground, based on natural hydraulic lime, has an elaborate texture that makes the space vibrate, while the walls and ceilings have been treated with a skim coat lightened with recycled glass microspheres, which makes the surfaces heterogeneous.

Dining room and kitchen. Dining chairs: Livoni – Dorothea model; custom designed table with a ceramic leg; lighting: GANlight – Oxidised copper model; custom designed kitchen; kitchen track spotlights: Aria Light/Ivela

Casa Rude was born from these needs, so renamed for the sensual use of materials, such as the reinforced concrete left exposed and unshaved of the pillars and beams, which frame the rooms of the living area.

"What guided us in the design was the desire to enhance the distinctive features of the unique terraced building, dating back to the 1980s, which houses the apartment. We wanted to restore fluidity to the spaces, encourage the opening and the rediscovery of pre-existing materials and details, on which to set a new vision," explained Tommaso Amato, co-founder of STUDIOTAMAT.

Dining room and kitchen. Dining chairs: Livoni – Dorothea model; custom designed table with a ceramic leg; lighting: GANlight – Oxidised copper model; custom designed kitchen; kitchen track spotlights: Aria Light/Ivela

For example, the living area is envisioned as a loft, a single space with unfinished walls and continuous flooring, which houses the entrance, living room, dining room and kitchen, visually connected by the supporting structure in exposed concrete. 

As a pivot, an imposing multifunctional cube in birch wood hides inside the pantry, a wardrobe for coats and a bookcase with TV.

Studio. Applique: Flos – mini glo-ball; chair: Livoni – Dorothea model 

Geometric-shaped furnitures dominant the interior space

The sartorial work done on the interiors extends to the custom-made furnishings. The dining table has a solid wood top burned using the Japanese Shou sugi technique and it is supported by a cylindrical ceramic leg and two raw iron sheets; the studio desk moves in space thanks to a wooden wheel that runs on a track hidden inside the bookcase; the masonry sofa is cut considering the physicality of the owners; the kitchen with the island entirely covered in terracotta and Patagonia marble worktop incorporates two reinforced concrete pillars inside.

Bedroom. Custom designed headboard and bed frame; suspended lamp: Aromas – Dalt

A clear break separates the sleeping area: a pivot door in perforated sheet metal partially screens the corridor, which connects the guest bedroom and the master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, to the main bathroom with tub and the walk-in closet. 

Bedroom. Custom designed headboard and bed frame; suspended lamp: Aromas – Dalt 

The transition is also marked by the change of flooring, from the resin that prevails in the living area, to the terracotta of the more private areas. 

En-suite bathroom. Faucets: Gessi

The master bedroom has an equipped wall in walnut wood, which acts as a filter. Inside, in fact, it houses two ribbed glass doors which allow, if necessary, to annex the bathroom to the room, or to leave as pertinent only the compartment containing the freestanding sink.

En-suite bathroom. Faucets: Gessi

The terrace extends along the entire south-west side of the apartment, offering breathtaking sunsets. The external masonry kitchen, covered in travertine, taking up the pre-existing thresholds, is integrated into the parapet and the bench, which serves as a seat for the dining table, while the horizontal surface is covered in wooden slats. 

Bathroom with tub. Faucets: Cristina; tub: Flaminia App; sink: Art Ceram – Cognac

A brise soleil shields the technical area of the systems and acts as a backdrop for the outdoor shower with direct access to the bedroom, blurring the boundary between inside and outside.

Mixing softness and brutalism, contemporary accents and tailor-made interventions, the STUDIOTAMAT-designed apartment is an oasis of serenity where you can take a break from the frenetic pace of the city.

Dining room and kitchen. Dining chairs: Livoni – Dorothea model; custom designed table with a ceramic leg; lighting: GANlight – Oxidised copper model; custom designed kitchen; kitchen track spotlights: Aria Light/Ivela

Dining room and kitchen. Dining chairs: Livoni – Dorothea model; custom designed table with a ceramic leg; lighting: GANlight – Oxidised copper model; custom designed kitchen; kitchen track spotlights: Aria Light/Ivela

Closet cube in birch, detail

Closet cube in birch, detail

Dining room. Dining chairs: Livoni – Dorothea model; custom designed table with a ceramic leg; lighting: GANlight – Oxidised copper model

Living room. Custom designed sofa; coffee table: Bizzotto – Kalpita model; wall lamp with arm: Tooy – Gordon model

Living room. Custom designed sofa; coffee table: Bizzotto – Kalpita model; wall lamp with arm: Tooy – Gordon model

Living room. Custom designed sofa; coffee table: Bizzotto – Kalpita model; wall lamp with arm: Tooy – Gordon model

Bedroom. Custom designed headboard and bed frame; suspended lamp: Aromas – Dalt

Floor plan

Axonometric drawing

Axonometric drawing

Project facts

Project name: Rude House

Architects: STUDIOTAMAT (Tommaso Amato, Matteo Soddu and Valentina Paiola)

Location: Tor De Cenci, Rome

Project Team: Tommaso Amato, Matteo Soddu and Valentina Paiola, Silvia D’Alessandro, Alice Patrizi

Dates: May 2023

GFA: 120 sqm + 40 sqm (terrace)

Contractor: Ciquattro Servizi Edili Srl

All images © Serena Eller Vainicher.

All drawings © STUDIOTAMAT. 

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