The House Boat

This architecture that thrives on open space, white, lucid surfaces, springs from the place where it is anchored, at the extremity of the new Gallipoli. “We are 12 meters away from the Ionian Sea, on an irregular lot that embraces the stunning visual cone of the sun at sunset, and a series of views of the old city, with its splendid maze of little streets, houses and churches, of great historical value,” says Ludovica Serafini.

The environmental qualities of the context had to be exploited, inspiring the whole project: three years of construction with specialized work teams, imported from afar. “We are used to working on a zero-km basis, reducing waste and striving for visual immediacy, both in design and architecture, divesting the object of any non-intrinsic values; but in this case the need for technical isolation of the house from the water was so complex that it required two levels of excavation with respect to the street level, using materials and workers not from this zone.”

“The effect we were looking for was something like that of a riad that conceals its wonders inside, a life independent of the context. Here the mental and physical detachment is provided by a small courtyard that creates privacy, and on a practical level hides the service areas behind a wall transformed into a blade of water.”

In the company of large olive trees, from the courtyard one reaches the entrance of the house, organized on three above-ground levels plus a terrace, with the semi-basement set aside for cars, technical equipment and the rooms of the servants. The ground floor contains the spaces for entertaining, and the spa with an indoor swimming pool and wellness islands, closed by an opaque glazing.

The sculptural white helical staircase starts here, cutting through and connecting all the levels, freed as much as possible from structures and partitions, for a perceptive effect of dematerialization, air and lightness, all the way to the terrace.

“The staircase was made as a one-off, assembled at the workshop and brought in which a helicopter – a complex object: since the floor slabs are at different heights, each portion had to be precisely calculated,” Palomba explains.

At the first level, the bedrooms are ample spaces with their own bathrooms, while the main room is closed by a full-height corner window for a view of the sea. The second level contains a fluid sequence of living spaces, with a two-story zone, conceived as a greenhouse with large plants inserted at strategic points, connected to the super-tech kitchen island that conceals, behind cabinets, a specially designed super-hood for frying, custom-made for this house.

Light is a great resource, but it can also be the enemy in the South: violent during the summer but very precious in the winter, when the climate is very humid. The study of air currents became an opportunity in this sense, because with fluid circulation the house-boat (though entirely automated) can thrive on natural air flow for much of the year, without relying on air conditioning. Paradoxically, when the clouds are moving and the house seems to join in their dance, you could almost get seasick.”

Actually, the installation of semi-opaque curtains helps to protect privacy while conserving views: they become opaque when special lights are projected from the outside, while from the inside the landscape is still visible. “This too is a sign of contemporary life,” Ludovica says. “The clients wanted a work of architecture that would have a strong but not imitative relationship with the territory. Together, we chose a range of materials to bring out the chromatic impact of whites, vibrating with light and its reflections.”

The furnishings complete this domestic atmosphere: a few essential custom pieces, of contemporary or historic design. “After all, it remains a house made of sea and nature. And large functional spaces that coincide with the life of the people who live here. Because making architecture is always a journey. Inside ourselves, and inside others.”