Sergio Bianchi, a young architect from Rome, was the winner of the international architectural competition, “A house at Bellegra - New ways to live in the country” set by IN/ARCH Istituto Nazionale di Architettura with support from the Comune di Bellegra and the Accademia di Francia in Rome.
The site area is characterised by bare rock, with a crevice in which rainwater collects, a high position with sweeping panorama, a steep slope facing a green wall of desne vegetation. Bianchi’s scheme included a walkway that goes round the bare rock to view it from the other side and from on high and a metal lightweight structure, almost transparent, that the building is raised up on, exalting the panoramic position.
From a construction point of view, the building, that has an anti-seismic structure, consists of a central core in reinforced conrete with a wall in fair faced stone with insulation placed in between to stop heat losses. From the central core a structure in steel and glass branches out, corresponding to the living room block. The bedroom area, isolated from the living area, can be closed in such a way as to guarantee strong protection during the cold season. The north elevation of the living room has no glazing except for a high ribbon window to provide cross ventilation. The south side is open with extensive sliding glazing offering broad views of the surounding landscape, towards the rock and an oak forest.
On the roof photovoltaic panels collect solar energy and supply electricity for the building and external lighting, solar panels supply domestic hot water and support the gas heating system. Overhanging roofs shade the flat terraces and create a protected area at ground level for working outdoors. Rainwater is collected in underground tanks. From here it is used for the irrigation of the fields on the south-west side. Waste water is collected, treated with a filter-purification system and placed once more in circulation.
Bianchi Sergio: De Risi House, Bellegra (Rome)
Architect: Sergio Bianchi
Collaborators Elisabetta Straffi, Paola Porretta, Marco Lorio, Tommaso Fersini, Pietro Fiorentini, Caterina Finocchi, Enrico Bianchi
Structural engineering: Antonio Michetti, Francesco Redi
Building contractor: Greco Lavorazioni Metalliche, MP Costruzioni Edili di Massimo Pepe
Bianchi Sergio: De Risi House, Bellegra (Rome)
How do you live in the countryside where there is no longer agriculture? The answer is in a building in Bellegra that respects nature, expressing all its potential.

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- 29 October 2009
- Olevano Bellegra
