This Utopian “House in the Orchard” Is Part Home and Part Greenhouse
La Casa Nell' Orto—House in the Orchard—was a unique architectural project from the onset. Clients Spartaco and Cinzia, both Tuscan dentists, desired a little home where they could occasionally reside and grow vegetables and other plants. They engaged LDA.iMdA architetti associati to create a house capable of cultivating their favorite hobby.
The fully glazed facade reflects the surrounding landscape while providing transparency and daylight to the interior.
The site had been degraded by urban sprawl, so the architects sought to reactivate the true sense of the place while integrating innovative construction methods. The project was not only an exploration of physical form, but also a study in how a simple architectural form relates to the function and the identity of those residing within it.
Surrounded by abandoned rural buildings and neglected wasteland, the home is a bright example of modern regrowth.
The simple, pure external shape was just the starting point for this sustainable greenhouse of the future, which blends house and garden. LDA.iMdA architetti associati executed the project in phases, and the first realized volume was the enclosed housing unit, which offers 904 square feet of living space.
LDA.iMdA architetti associati designed the home's envelope with an inclination in the sidewall that makes the most of the building's footprint and negates the need for a traditional rain gutter. Every detail reflects a thoughtful solution related to the function of the form.
To reduce the impact on the surrounding landscape, the floor of the home was lifted. This slight elevation also solved hydraulic problems related to greenhouse function.
The enclosed house provides a retreat for the clients to reside in during the summer and winter months while enjoying the land on which they garden and plant.
With phase one complete, the homeowners look forward to the next phase of construction, which will increase the building's footprint with greenhouse elements capable of cultivating vegetables in the winter, further fusing house and garden in an innovative formwork. The hope, as stated by the architects themselves, is that such forms may become a model for a fluid and dynamic society.
Although innovative in construction, the simple and pure gabled form relates to the character of the rural setting and the agrarian use of the building. Elevated slightly above the ground, the home inflicts minimal intrusion on the existing landscape.
The project's elements are represented in this diagram, which includes outdoor living areas, a housing unit, a greenhouse, and a vegetable garden.
Related Reading:
10 Greenhouses That Will Inspire You to Grab Your Gardening Tools
10 Modern Gardens That Freshen Up Traditional Homes
Project Credits:
Architect of Record, Interior, and Lighting Design: LDA.iMdA architetti associati / @lda.imda
Builder / General Contractor: CardelliBros
Structural Engineer: Daniele Nesti
Cabinetry Design / Installation: Mazzoni studio d'interni
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