Casa di Confine by Simone Subissati Architects: 2019 Best of Year Winner for Small Country House

Situated between the Adriatic Sea and the Appennine Mountains, the Marche region of Italy holds strong ties to agriculture. The stone farmhouses populating the area are evidence writ large. For this new-build version nestled in the panoramic landscape of Polverigi, architect Simone Subissati combined the vernacular’s barnlike linearity with a decidedly modern twist.

Subissati employed different materials to demarcate the 3,000-square-foot residence’s two levels. The first floor, which the Ancona-based architect conceived for daytime activities, is clad in red iron panels treated with an anti-rust primer. Vertical openings provide entry at various points—the patio, the living room, the bathroom—as well as visual permeability, something Subissati calls a “cut block.” The second floor, designated for nighttime, is finished with creamy, self-cleaning plaster, the contrast with the darker lower level lending a floating effect. He describes its punched square windows as “kaleidoscopic viewfinders.”

The interior is further meant to evoke the rural surroundings and their simple architectural language. White chicken wire encloses an interior balcony, and Subissati designed most of the minimal furnishings himself, in white ash, pine, or concrete. The pool is positioned to afford swimmers views of the entire countryside.

Project Team: Alice Cerigioni; Domenico Lamura; Matteo Virgulti.

> See more from the December/January 2020 issue of Interior Design